AI, Semiconductor, Battery, and Bio Convergence — Moving Beyond AI Education to Become a Global Research Hub

□ NEWS LINK:  ① YTN   ② MBN   ③ DONGA

On the 16th, Gachon University held the opening ceremony of the Gachon Institute of AI and Computing (GAIC) at the Gachon Convention Center to strengthen its global competitiveness in the field of artificial intelligence. Korea University Professor Lee Wonjun was appointed as the founding director. To maximize his research capacity and ensure the institute’s long-term growth, Gachon University offered him an unprecedented appointment with tenure guaranteed until the age of 70.

The event was attended by more than 200 people, including President Lee Gilya of Gachon University, Chung Jin Ho, President of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), Lee Gun Woo, President of Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Kim Myung Joo, Director of the National AI Safety Research Institute, as well as Gachon University’s academic council members, faculty from the College of IT Convergence, and students.

In 2020, Gachon University became the first university in Korea to establish a Department of Artificial Intelligence, taking an early lead in AI education. Since then, the university has promoted AI-driven educational innovation across all fields, including:

- Making basic AI liberal arts education mandatory for all students

- Expanding AI convergence research linked with medicine, pharmacy, and biotechnology

- Creating AI-specialized courses tailored to each major

- Establishing the nation’s first College of AI Humanities

Through these initiatives, Gachon University has positioned itself as a leading institution for AI specialization. The launch of the AI & Computing Research Institute represents a strategic move to build on these educational achievements and advance toward becoming a world-class research hub.

The AI & Computing Research Institute plans to conduct convergence research that places AI at its core, spanning fields such as 6G networks, cloud and edge computing, quantum computing, physical AI, drug discovery, biotechnology, systems, semiconductors, policy, and law. It will actively strengthen collaboration with academia, industry, government institutions, leading overseas universities and research institutes, and organizations like the Korean Academy of Science and Technology. By hosting joint industry–academic projects, symposiums, and international events, the institute aims to build an AI+X ecosystem and lead research and education that enhance national competitiveness.

Professor Lee Wonjun, appointed as the founding director of the institute, is a professor in the Department of Computer Science and the Graduate School of Information Security at Korea University. He has built a distinguished global reputation with groundbreaking research in wired and wireless communication networking systems, AI-based cloud–edge computing, and wireless security, and in 2021 was named an IEEE Fellow in the fields of computing and communication networking.

He is an elected member of both the Korean Academy of Science and Technology and the National Academy of Engineering of Korea, and also served as president of the Korean Institute of Information Scientists and Engineers (KIISE), the nation’s largest and most prestigious academic society for software, AI, and computer science since its founding in 1973.

Years before domestic researchers began focusing heavily on AI, Professor Lee foresaw the coming of the AI+X and Post-AI era and actively advocated convergence-oriented AI research centered on domain knowledge. He has collaborated extensively with researchers at home and abroad on industry-tailored AI technologies in fields such as networks, the web, cloud, systems, semiconductors, quantum computing, medicine, and manufacturing.

As chair of the engineering division at the Korean Academy of Science and Technology, he also led national discussions on AI and computing strategy through policy forums and strategic advisement, spearheading paradigm shifts in AI research.

His appointment represents a break from the traditional Distinguished/University Professor system, setting a new role model as an active tenured professor. The academic community views this as a pivotal turning point for Gachon University, signaling its ambition to advance as a research-centered university and to realize its long-term development strategies and future vision.

At the opening ceremony, Gachon University President Lee Gilya stated,

“Gachon University has been a leader in AI education as the first university in Korea to establish a Department of Artificial Intelligence. Now, to open a new chapter in research, we have launched the AI & Computing Research Institute. By bringing in Professor Lee Wonjun under unprecedented conditions, we aim to strategically merge AI with the BBC fields—semiconductors, batteries, and biotechnology—that Gachon has long specialized in. This represents our commitment to developing the AI & Computing Research Institute into a global hub, raising it to the top level in Korea and ultimately to world-class standards.”

In his inaugural address, Founding Director Lee Wonjun of GAIC declared “Rubies in the Dust: AI·Computing Fusion” as the vision of the institute. Building on Gachon University’s rapid and innovative achievements over the past decade—unmatched in Korea or abroad—he expressed strong determination to realize the goal of “Gachon AI & Computing: Evolving through Convergence” within the next ten years. To achieve this, he announced plans to significantly expand the institute’s full-time faculty starting next year, positioning Gachon as the nation’s foremost AI+X specialized university.

Beginning next year, the AI & Computing Research Institute will launch a wide range of initiatives, including hosting the Global AI & Computing Symposium, organizing world-class international academic conferences on the scale of IEEE, establishing international joint research centers, and advancing AI-driven regional innovation projects, thereby accelerating its research and industry–academia collaboration programs.