1,150 Applicants for All Departments, Full-Scale Research Paradigm Shift and Industry Collaboration
New AI College to Drive Emerging Industries... Becoming a Policy Hub for AI G3 and the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam Region
The university has launched a proactive talent war in the race for AI supremacy.
UNIST (President Chong Rae Park) has expanded its full-time faculty by 38 members through its first and second integrated recruitment drives in 2025. This is the largest scale since the university's founding.
A total of 1,150 applicants applied, with a large influx of domestic and international researchers despite the university's location outside the capital region. UNIST stated that this expansion of outstanding talent will serve as a catalyst for industrial innovation in the southeastern region and for strengthening the nation's AI competitiveness.
This recruitment aligns with the government's ultra-wide area cooperation and support policies for Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam. As UNIST's role in the region has grown, the need for additional personnel has also increased.
UNIST has set a goal to lead technological innovation and talent development in advanced industrial fields, including manufacturing AI. The university changed its traditional department-based recruitment process and instead conducted a unified recruitment drive across all departments and fields simultaneously.
The integrated recruitment focused on lowering barriers between academic disciplines. The aim is to build a convergent faculty and enhance research capabilities. By bringing together various majors, the university also plans to broaden its research topics. UNIST presented this as an opportunity for a 'research paradigm shift.'
The core of this recruitment was securing early-career researchers in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). In line with the government's goal of becoming one of the top three AI powers (G3), the university prioritized the placement of talent who will lead future AI research.
UNIST plans to establish a comprehensive research system covering everything from fundamental AI technologies to applications, and to strengthen research capabilities that can deliver results in industrial settings.
The university also recruited internationally recognized researchers, including a renowned scholar who previously served as associate dean at a major U.S. state university. UNIST expects that the global research environment, where early-career researchers and world-class scholars grow together, will also expand the foundation for nurturing the next generation of academics.
The 38 new full-time faculty members confirmed for recruitment have been organized according to the characteristics of their research fields as follows.
To professionally support the AI transformation of local industries, UNIST established the Novatus Graduate School this year. The university is also preparing to establish a dedicated AI college. By creating a virtuous cycle where research outcomes are transferred to industry and then linked back to education, UNIST aims to become a practical bridgehead for industrial innovation in the southeastern region.
President Chong Rae Park stated, "This integrated recruitment is the result of strategically securing outstanding talent by considering not only the development directions of each department and institution, but also the roles required by the nation and the region. As a world-class leading university in science and technology, UNIST will simultaneously drive regional industrial revitalization and strengthen the nation's AI competitiveness."
This large-scale faculty expansion is expected to invigorate convergence research. UNIST plans to further advance the integration of research and education in advanced industrial fields such as manufacturing AI, while establishing itself as a research hub leading the industrial AI transformation of the 'Pentagon' area connecting Ulsan, Gyeongju, Pohang, Gyeongnam, and Busan.
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