About KAIST Graduate School of Engineering Biology

As technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data accelerate the Fourth Industrial Revolution, advanced biotechnology is also evolving at an unprecedented pace. Engineering Biology, a discipline driving this bio-transformation, has emerged as a core field shaping our collective future and was recently designated as one of Korea’s National Strategic Technologies. Leading nations including the United States and China have also identified Engineering Biology as a key strategic area, investing heavily in talent development to secure global leadership in the field.

The KAIST Graduate School of Engineering Biology will serve as a gateway for nurturing top-tier experts in this rapidly expanding area, leveraging KAIST’s world-class educational and research capabilities. Through interdisciplinary collaboration among life sciences, chemistry, computer science, and robotics, the school is expected to pioneer innovations that will redefine the future of biotechnology.

Once again, I extend my heartfelt congratulations on the establishment of this graduate program and look forward to groundbreaking research that will open new horizons for Korea’s future. I wish the Graduate School of Engineering Biology continued growth and success.

Humanity faces a complex set of intertwined challenges — from the climate crisis, food and water scarcity, and energy transitions to pandemics and chronic diseases. Addressing these grand challenges requires new strategies, and Engineering Biology, which applies engineering principles to biological systems, stands at the forefront of this mission.

Engineering Biology is an inherently interdisciplinary science that integrates engineering concepts into life sciences to precisely design, construct, and synthesize biological components and systems. It not only deepens our understanding of life itself but also provides powerful means to solve some of humanity’s most pressing problems.

As the world’s first Graduate School of Engineering Biology established jointly by KAIST’s College of Engineering and College of Life Science and Bioengineering, this program will become a global hub for interdisciplinary research and advanced human resource development that bridges fundamental and applied sciences. I sincerely wish for its great success and international impact.