DGIST held a graduation ceremony for the first half of 2023 (Feb.)

□ On February 16 (Thursday), the DGIST held a graduation ceremony for the first half of 2023, that is, those who graduated in February, at the Convention Hall in the Office of the University. A total of 242 students—29 doctoral, 87 master’s, and 126 bachelor’s students—received academic degrees in science and technology fields.

□ Jongho Lee (Minister of Science and ICT), Junghye Noh (the board chairman of DGIST and an honorary professor at SNU), Jonghan Kim (the administrative mayor of Daegu Metropolitan City), and Hanjun Kim (President of the DGIST Alumni Association and a professor at Kumoh National Institute of Technology) congratulated the graduates in the ceremony. Jungjin Seo, who is the Honorary President of Celltrion, Inc., the largest biopharmaceutical company in Korea, was also in attendance and delivered a special speech for the graduates.

□ Dahee Jin is a graduate of the Department of Energy Engineering who received the Minister of Science and ICT Award. She has conducted innovative research in the field of lithium secondary battery, a field in which competition has been accelerating worldwide. She has also published 21 papers in international academic journals, including Advanced Energy Materials. Furthermore, she has accomplished several feats in research during her study at DGIST, such as obtaining 10 patent applications, engaging in technology transfer, and managing the NRF Basic Research Lab (BRL). Jin stated that “I discovered my dreams based on the innovative, challenging, cooperative, and considerate spirits I learned from at DGIST,” and added, “I hope all the graduates will become global talents and make changes in the world through innovation, as stated in the vision of DGIST.”

□ Taeseung Ryu is a graduate of the School of Undergraduate Studies who was selected for the Undergraduate Research Program of KOFAC for two consecutive years (2018 and 2019) in the life science field. In 2021, Ryu was the lead author of a paper submitted to PLOS ONE, an SCI-level journal. In 2022, Ryu received the Grand Prize at the 2022 Campus Patent Universiade. Ryu stated that “I had great research opportunities during my undergraduate study thanks to the outstanding professors at DGIST and in-depth research programs, such as UGRP,” and added, “I believe the experiences and lessons I got in DGIST will serve as the foundation of my continued endeavor in science and technology field.”

□ Yani Cho is a graduate of the School of Undergraduate Studies. Cho received the DGIST Board President Award, participated in the FGLP (the DGIST global leadership program offered at Harvard University), and completed a research internship at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids in Germany. Moreover, Cho conducted research on “real-time COVID-19 diagnosis” as a part of an undergraduate research program at DGIST, and it was selected as the UGRP’s excellent research project. Cho said, “I gained international experience by participating in various programs at DGIST, which offers a high-quality education and research environment,” and added, “I wish to become a quantum physicist to study new quantum states, advance quantum physics in Korea, and repay all the support DGIST provided me.”

□ DGIST President Kuk Yang described the graduates as “scientists who have global competitiveness and who have completed the DGIST’s innovative curriculum and research process amidst a pandemic” and added, “I hope the graduates will pursue lifelong learning to grow and become responsible global citizens.”

□ In his special speech at the ceremony, Jungjin Seo, the Honorary President of Celltrion, Inc., said that “I’d like to congratulate all of them for overcoming the difficulties in the pandemic to complete their course of study,” and added, “start having smaller goals and strive to become the best in the world.”

□ Hanjun Kim, the President of the DGIST Alumni Association, stated that “Graduation ceremonies became quite minimal during the pandemic, but I’m glad to be able to celebrate the success of our graduates at this graduation ceremony, which is conducted in full scale,” and added, “The Alumni Association has been established this year, and I hope all the graduates of DGIST will continue interacting after graduation.”

□ The DGIST is an institute of science and technology under the direct control of the Ministry of Science and ICT. Since the establishment of graduate and undergraduate schools in 2011 and 2014, respectively, DGIST has been fostering nearly 1,800 talents in convergence science. In 2022, despite entering the QS Asia University Rankings for the first time, it ranked second countrywide based on the number of papers published per faculty member and the citation index. Since its achievements have been recognized publicly, it has firmly established its position as a research-oriented university