Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology

The Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, known as GIST and in Korean as Gwangju Gwahak Gisulwon, is a public research university and institute of technology in the city of Gwangju in South Korea, founded in 1993 by a legislative act of the National Assembly, and it is one of the government-funded science and technology universities of the country where all courses are taught in English.光州科学技术院（Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology），简称（GIST），韩语名为（광주과학기술원），是位于韩国光州广域市的一所公立研究型大学与技术学院，1993 年依韩国国会立法设立，也是韩国政府资助的理工科大学之一，全校课程均以英语授课。

It was founded on 5 August 1993 as a research-oriented graduate school whose mission was to train highly skilled scientists and to build a research and development base for advanced technology, teaching in English from the outset and offering only master's and doctoral degrees at first, and Doo-Bong Ha was inaugurated as its first president on 11 October 1993.该校于 1993 年 8 月 5 日成立，定位于研究型研究生院，使命是培养高水平科学家并为先进技术建立研发基地，自创办起即以英语授课，最初仅授予硕士与博士学位；1993 年 10 月 11 日，河斗奉（Doo-Bong Ha）就任首任院长。

In the 2027 QS World University Rankings GIST is placed 379th, it lies in the 376-400 band of the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, it is 1136th in the 2026-2027 U.S. News Best Global Universities, it did not enter the 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities, and OpenAlex credits it with 24,913 research works.该校在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中位列第 379，在 2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名中处于 376 至 400 区间，在 2026 至 2027 年度 US News 全球最佳大学排名中位列第 1136，未进入 2026 年软科世界大学学术排名，OpenAlex 统计其研究成果达 24,913 项。

History

• The Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology Act was enacted on 5 August 1993, when the institute was established as a government-sponsored research-oriented graduate school for science and engineering.1993 年 8 月 5 日，《光州科学技术院法》颁布，该校作为政府资助的理工科研究型研究生院正式成立。

• Its primary mission was to foster highly skilled scientists and engineers and to create a strong research and development base that would advance advanced technology in Korea.其首要使命是培养高水平的科学家与工程师，并为推动韩国先进技术建立坚实的研究与开发基地。

• On 11 October 1993 Dr Doo-Bong Ha was inaugurated as the university's first president, giving the young institute its first leadership.1993 年 10 月 11 日，河斗奉（Doo-Bong Ha）博士就任该校首任院长，使这所年轻的机构有了首届领导层。

• The institute conferred its first master's degrees on 27 February 1997, only four years after it was founded.1997 年 2 月 27 日，该校授予了首批硕士学位，距其成立仅四年。

• It awarded its first doctoral degrees on 20 February 2000, completing the build-up of a full graduate research programme.2000 年 2 月 20 日，该校授予了首批博士学位，完成了完整研究生培养体系的构建。

• In 2001 GIST became the first university in South Korea to introduce a thesis quality certification programme, which required doctoral candidates to publish in high-impact journals before graduation.2001 年，该校成为韩国第一所引入学位论文质量认证制度的高校，要求博士生在毕业前在高影响力期刊上发表论文。

• On 26 March 2004 the university officially changed its English acronym from KJIST to GIST, following the revision of the Romanisation of the city's name from Kwangju to Gwangju.2004 年 3 月 26 日，随着城市名称罗马化拼写由（Kwangju）改为（Gwangju），该校的英文缩写也正式由（KJIST）改为（GIST）。

• In May 2008 an amendment to the GIST Act was passed by the National Assembly, authorising the establishment of an undergraduate programme and thus a continuous science education track from bachelor's to doctoral level.2008 年 5 月，国会通过《光州科学技术院法》修正案，授权设立本科项目，从而形成从学士到博士的连续理工教育通道。

• GIST College, the university's undergraduate school, admitted its first class of 100 students in March 2010 and implemented a liberal-arts-based science curriculum, the first of its kind at a technical institute in South Korea.该校本科学院（GIST College）于 2010 年 3 月招收首届 100 名学生，实施以博雅教育为基础的理科课程，这在此前韩国的工科院校中尚属首创。

• The first bachelor's degrees were conferred on 25 February 2014, marking the completion of the institute's transition into a full bachelor's-to-doctorate institution.2014 年 2 月 25 日，该校授予首批学士学位，标志着其完成为一所贯通学士至博士的院校。

• After being ranked fifteenth in the world for citations per faculty in the 2008 QS World University Rankings, GIST went on to hold a place in the global top ten for that indicator between 2013 and 2018.在 2008 年 QS 世界大学排名中，该校的师均被引次数位列全球第 15；此后在 2013 至 2018 年间，它一直保持在该指标全球前十之列。

• In the 2016 and 2017 QS tables GIST was ranked second in the world in the category of citations per faculty, its highest placing in that measure.在 2016 与 2017 年的 QS 榜单中，该校在师均被引次数一项位列全球第 2，是它在此指标上的最高名次。

• In October 2019 GIST established its Artificial Intelligence Graduate School as part of a national strategy to lead in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.2019 年 10 月，作为引领第四次工业革命的国家战略的一部分，该校设立了人工智能研究生院。

• In July 2023 Dr Kichul Lim was inaugurated as the ninth president of GIST, having been appointed by the board of directors and approved by the Minister of Science and ICT.2023 年 7 月，林基哲（Kichul Lim）博士经董事会任命并经科学技术信息通信部长官批准，就任该校第九任院长。

• To mark its thirtieth anniversary in November 2023 the institute held a vision declaration ceremony titled GIST Vision 2053, setting the goal of becoming a top 50 global university by 2053.2023 年 11 月，为纪念成立三十周年，该校举行以「2053 愿景」（Vision 2053）为主题的愿景宣示仪式，提出到 2053 年成为全球前 50 名大学的目标。

• In January 2024 the university launched GIST Holdings, a dedicated investment and technology-transfer wing designed to accelerate the commercialisation of campus technologies and foster a deep-tech start-up ecosystem in the Gwangju region.2024 年 1 月，该校成立（GIST Holdings），作为专门的投资与技术转让机构，以加速校内技术成果的商业化，并在光州地区培育深科技创业生态。

• In the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2024 GIST was placed 85th in the world and fourth in South Korea, a measure restricted to universities under fifty years old.在 2024 年泰晤士高等教育年轻大学排名中，该校位列全球第 85、韩国第 4，该榜单仅收录成立不满五十年的大学。

• In 2025 the institute was ranked fourth in the world and first in Korea for citations per faculty by QS, a position it had held in the Korean top group for seventeen consecutive years.2025 年，该校在 QS 师均被引次数指标上位列全球第 4、韩国第 1，这也是它连续十七年位居韩国该指标前列。

• In 2023 GIST was ranked first in start-up performance and named Korea's Best Entrepreneurship University by the Maeil Business Newspaper and the Korea Business Incubation Association.2023 年，该校在创业绩效方面排名第一，并被《每日经济新闻》与韩国创业保育协会评为韩国最佳创业型大学。

Academics

• GIST is organised around four colleges, those of Information and Computing, Natural Sciences, Engineering, and Life Sciences and Medical Engineering, together with the Institute of Integrated Technology.该校以四个学院为基本架构，即信息与计算学院、自然科学学院、工学院，以及生命科学与医学工程学院，另设综合技术研究院。

• The College of Information and Computing includes the departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, AI Convergence and Semiconductor Engineering, the last of these offered on a contract basis to Korean nationals only.信息与计算学院下设电气工程与计算机科学系、人工智能融合系与半导体工程系，其中半导体工程系以定向培养方式仅向韩国本国学生开放。

• The College of Natural Sciences comprises the departments of Physics and Photon Science, Chemistry and Mathematical Sciences.自然科学学院包含物理与光子科学系、化学系与数学科学系。

• The College of Engineering brings together the departments of Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical and Robotics Engineering, and Environment and Energy Engineering.工学院汇集材料科学与工程系、机械与机器人工程系，以及环境与能源工程系。

• The College of Life Sciences and Medical Engineering contains the departments of Life Sciences, Biomedical Science and Engineering, and Integrative Neuroscience and Physiology.生命科学与医学工程学院设有生命科学系、生物医学科学与工程系，以及整合神经科学与生理学系。

• The Institute of Integrated Technology adds the Graduate School of Management of Technology, which awards a master's degree in management of technology.综合技术研究院还设有技术管理研究生院，授予技术管理硕士学位。

• The university's teaching is organised into twelve departments and a range of master's, doctoral and integrated master's-doctoral programmes.该校的教学划分为十二个系，并开设硕士、博士以及硕博连读等多种培养项目。

• An Artificial Intelligence Graduate School was established in October 2019 to provide master's and doctoral training in artificial intelligence and data science, as part of a national strategy to lead in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.该校于 2019 年 10 月设立人工智能研究生院，开设人工智能与数据科学方向的硕士与博士培养项目，以配合国家引领第四次工业革命的战略。

• GIST College admits undergraduates into a general studies programme of basic science, humanities and social science courses for their first year, and students select a major track before the end of their second semester.本科学院第一年先将学生纳入涵盖基础科学、人文与社会科学课程的通用学习项目，学生在第二学期结束前选定专业方向。

• All courses at GIST are taught in English, master's and doctoral theses are written in English, and a doctoral candidate is required to publish at least one paper as first author in a scientific journal to obtain the degree.该校所有课程均以英语授课，硕士与博士论文也用英语撰写，博士生须以第一作者在科学期刊上发表至少一篇论文方可获得学位。

• The thesis quality certification programme introduced in 2001 requires doctoral candidates to publish in high-impact journals before graduation and has become a hallmark of the institute's research training.2001 年引入的学位论文质量认证制度要求博士生在毕业前于高影响力期刊发表论文，如今已成为该校科研训练的鲜明特色。

• As of 1 October 2024 the institute had 2,452 enrolled students, 209 faculty members, 35 researchers and 227 other employees, giving a student-to-faculty ratio of ten to one.截至 2024 年 10 月 1 日，该校在校生为 2,452 名，专任教师 209 名，研究人员 35 名，其他员工 227 名，师生比约为十比一。

• International students make up about ten per cent of the enrolment, and the institute has awarded 8,348 degrees in total, including more than 1,400 doctorates.国际学生约占在校生的百分之十；该校迄今已授予 8,348 个学位，其中包括一千四百余名博士。

• Doctoral graduates of the institute publish an average of about five scientific papers during their studies, and the university has concluded 404 technology-transfer contracts.该校博士毕业生在读期间平均发表约五篇科学论文，学校已签订 404 项技术转让合同。

• GIST is a founding member of STAR-MOOC, a collaborative massive open online course platform launched in 2018 with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Pohang University of Science and Technology and the University of Science and Technology.该校是（STAR-MOOC）的创始成员，这一大型在线开放课程平台于 2018 年上线，合作方包括韩国科学技术院、大邱庆北科学技术院、蔚山科学技术院、浦项工科大学以及科学技术联合大学院大学。

• Research at the institute is conducted in some fifty specialised centres and eight research institutes that span artificial intelligence, photonics, materials, energy and the life sciences.该校的科研在约五十个专门中心与八个研究所中开展，覆盖人工智能、光子学、材料、能源与生命科学等领域。

• GIST Holdings, created in 2024, supports the commercialisation of campus research and links the institute with industry in the Gwangju region.2024 年成立的（GIST Holdings）支持校内研究成果的商业化，并将该校与光州地区的产业界联系起来。

Campus

• GIST occupies a single campus in the Cheomdan high-technology district of Buk-gu in the city of Gwangju, in the south-west of South Korea.该校拥有单一校区，位于韩国西南部光州广域市北区的尖端科技园区内。

• The campus covers an area of about 628,100 square metres and comprises 41 buildings given over to teaching, research and administration.校区占地约 628,100 平方米，由 41 栋建筑构成，用于教学、科研与行政。

• The Central Library opened in April 2015 with large-screen interactive digital reading displays, modern computers and a spacious reading environment for study and relaxation.中央图书馆于 2015 年 4 月启用，配备大屏幕交互式数字阅读显示屏、现代化计算机以及宽敞的阅览环境，供学习与休憩之用。

• The older library building, formerly known as the LG Library, now serves as the stacks, while the former LG Library service continues to support collections of monographs, journals, dissertations, government technical reports and multimedia.较早的图书馆建筑原称（LG 图书馆），现用作书库；其原有的服务则继续支撑专著、期刊、学位论文、政府技术报告与多媒体等馆藏。

• Teaching at the undergraduate college is concentrated in Building A of GIST College, where most first-year lectures are held.本科学院的教学集中在（GIST College）A 栋，多数一年级课程均在此进行。

• Student dormitories and residential facilities stand on the campus, supporting an international student body that makes up roughly one tenth of the enrolment.学生宿舍与住宿设施设在校区内，支撑着约占全校一成左右的国际学生群体。

• Some fifty research centres and eight institutes, together with laboratories for photonics, materials and the life sciences, are distributed across the campus.约五十个研究中心与八个研究所，连同光子学、材料与生命科学实验室，分布于整个校区。

• The campus lies within a high-technology cluster of research institutes and companies, and is linked to the centre of Gwangju by city buses and the metropolitan rail and subway network.校区处于由研究机构与企业组成的高科技集群之中，并通过城市公交与都市轨道、地铁网络与光州市中心相连。

Reputation

• In the 2027 QS World University Rankings GIST is placed 379th, and in the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings it lies in the 376-400 band.在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中，该校位列第 379；在 2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名中处于 376 至 400 区间。

• In the 2026-2027 U.S. News Best Global Universities it stands 1136th, and the institute did not enter the 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities.在 2026 至 2027 年度 US News 全球最佳大学排名中，该校位列第 1136；该校未进入 2026 年软科世界大学学术排名。

• The institute is best known for research impact, being ranked fourth in the world and first in Korea for citations per faculty by QS in 2025.该校以科研影响力著称，2025 年其在 QS 师均被引次数指标上位列全球第 4、韩国第 1。

• In the 2019 QS World University Rankings GIST was placed fifth in the world for citations per faculty, one of several years in which it stood at the very top of that indicator.在 2019 年 QS 世界大学排名中，该校的师均被引次数位列全球第 5，这是它长期在该指标上位居前列的年份之一。

• After being fifteenth in the world for citations per faculty in 2008, GIST climbed to second in the 2016 and 2017 QS tables and has stayed in the Korean top group for seventeen consecutive years.在 2008 年师均被引次数跻身全球第 15 之后，该校于 2016 与 2017 年的 QS 榜单升至全球第 2，并连续十七年位居韩国该指标前列。

• In the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2024 the institute was placed 85th in the world and fourth in Korea.在 2024 年泰晤士高等教育年轻大学排名中，该校位列全球第 85、韩国第 4。

• In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2014-2015 GIST was placed 96th in the world in the category of Engineering and Technology.在 2014 至 2015 年度泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名中，该校在工程与技术领域位列全球第 96。

• According to OpenAlex the institute has produced 24,913 research works, a compact but highly cited body of output for an institution of its size.据 OpenAlex 统计，该校已产出 24,913 项研究成果，相对于其体量而言，这是一批规模不大但被引密集的产出。

• Building on its research base, GIST was ranked first in start-up performance and named Korea's Best Entrepreneurship University in 2023.依托其科研基础，该校于 2023 年在创业绩效方面排名第一，并被评为韩国最佳创业型大学。

• Its standing rests on a narrow focus on science and engineering, English-medium instruction and close cooperation with national research programmes and industry.该校的地位建立在其对科学与工程的聚焦、全英文教学，以及与国家级科研计划和产业界的密切合作之上。

Student life

• GIST has no formal motto, and its guiding statement is the aspiration expressed in its Vision 2053 to move from a good university to a great one through research and education.该校没有正式校训，其纲领性表述是「2053 愿景」中所表达的志向——通过研究与教育，从一所好大学迈向一所伟大的大学。

• Announced at the thirtieth anniversary in 2023, Vision 2053 sets the goals of becoming a top 50 global university by 2053, nurturing 30 world-class scholars and fostering 30 unicorn-level technology companies.2023 年三十周年之际宣布的「2053 愿景」设定目标：到 2053 年成为全球前 50 名大学，培养 30 位世界级学者，并孵化 30 家独角兽级科技企业。

• Because all instruction is in English and about a tenth of the students come from abroad, the campus is a markedly international community within Gwangju.由于全部课程以英语授课，且约一成学生来自海外，校区在光州当地呈现出鲜明的国际化社群面貌。

• As a member of the science and technology university group, GIST is designated under the Ministry of Justice K-STAR Visa Track, which offers international graduates a fast-track route to residency after a master's or doctoral degree.作为理工科大学联盟成员，该校被纳入法务部的「K-STAR 签证通道」，为取得硕博学位的国际毕业生提供快速获得居留资格的路径。

• Under that track, eligible graduates may receive a residence visa through a recommendation from the university president and may apply for permanent residency after three years.在该通道下，符合条件的毕业生可经校长推荐获得居留签证，并在三年后申请永久居留。

• The institute runs STAR-MOOC online courses jointly with other national science and technology universities, giving students access to shared lecture materials.该校与其他国立理工科大学联合开设（STAR-MOOC）在线课程，使学生得以使用共享的讲课资源。

• Student clubs, sports teams and an annual campus festival complement the laboratory-centred academic life, and students of many nationalities mix in an entirely English-speaking environment.学生社团、运动队与一年一度的校园节庆，为以实验室为核心的学业生活增添色彩；学生在全英语环境中与不同国籍的同学相互交往。

• Student life revolves around the research laboratories within the fifty centres and eight institutes, where graduate students spend much of their time, and the compact campus keeps teaching and research facilities within easy reach.学生生活围绕五十个研究中心与八个研究所内的科研实验室展开，研究生的大部分时间都在其中度过；紧凑的校园使教学与科研设施近在咫尺。

• A student start-up culture is actively promoted, and companies such as Neuropht were founded by GIST students who went on to list on the KOSDAQ market.该校积极鼓励学生创业，包括（Neuropht）在内的企业即由该校学生创办，并最终在科斯达克市场上市。

Notable people

• Doo-Bong Ha served as the first president of GIST from 1993, when the institute was created, and led its initial build-up as a government research graduate school.河斗奉（Doo-Bong Ha）自 1993 年建校起担任该校首任院长，主持其作为政府研究型研究生院的初创建设。

• Kichul Lim was inaugurated as the ninth president in July 2023 and has led the institute through its Vision 2053 strategy.林基哲（Kichul Lim）于 2023 年 7 月就任第九任院长，带领该校推进其「2053 愿景」战略。

• Un-Chul Paek, an optical-fibre pioneer elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 1998 and known as the father of Korea's optical communications industry, was the first professor appointed at GIST and lived from 1934 to 2011.白雲出（Un-Chul Paek）是光纤领域的先驱，1998 年当选美国国家工程院院士，被称为韩国光通信产业之父，也是该校聘任的第一位教授。

• Jun-Kil Bin and Dong-Hyun Kim founded the medical artificial-intelligence company Neuropht in 2016 while students in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and the firm later listed on the KOSDAQ market.賓準吉（Jun-Kil Bin）与金東賢（Dong-Hyun Kim）2016 年在电气工程与计算机科学系就读期间创办医疗人工智能企业（Neuropht），该公司其后在科斯达克上市。

• Min-Su Yi, a GIST alumnus who studied from a master's in 1997 to a doctorate in 2002, became a professor at Kyungpook National University.李民秀（Min-Su Yi）是该校校友，自 1997 年攻读硕士至 2002 年取得博士，后任庆北大学教授。

• Hosung Yang, a master's graduate of 2006, became a director at the materials firm The Chemus.梁浩成（Hosung Yang）于 2006 年取得硕士学位，后出任材料企业（The Chemus）的董事。

• Yang-Joong Kim, a master's graduate of 2006, works at the research and development centre of Hanwha Chemical.金良重（Yang-Joong Kim）于 2006 年取得硕士学位，任职于韩华化学的研发中心。

• Hae-Myung Kim served as the fourth chairman of the GIST Development Foundation, which raises funds to support the institute.金海明（Hae-Myung Kim）曾任该校发展基金会第四任理事长，该基金会为学校募集资金。

• Eun-Mo Choi succeeded him as the fifth chairman of the GIST Development Foundation in a handover ceremony held at the institute.崔恩模（Eun-Mo Choi）其后接任该校发展基金会第五任理事长，交接仪式在校内举行。

• Jae-Gwan Kim served as director of the Graduate School of Management of Technology's academy, whose fourteenth graduating class made a donation to the university.金在寬（Jae-Gwan Kim）曾任技术管理研究生院学院的院长，其第十四期毕业班向学校捐资。

• Young-Jun Park, head of the Department of Environment and Energy Engineering, led the department's selection for the Ministry of Environment's AI circular-economy graduate school programme.朴榮俊（Young-Jun Park）是环境与能源工程系主任，主持该系入选环境部「人工智能循环经济特色化研究生院」项目。

• Together with its faculty and graduates, the institute counts among its community the researchers who built its reputation for citations per faculty and its network of technology-transfer and start-up ventures.连同其教师与毕业生在内，该校的社群还包括为其赢得师均被引声誉的研究者，以及它那由技术转让与创业企业构成的网络。