DAEJEON — Young scientists leading next-generation research in artificial intelligence, bio, space, energy and advanced manufacturing across 30 national laboratory schools are gathering in one place for open exchange.
The University of Science and Technology (UST) said it is holding "USTIC (Unlimited Science & Technology International Conference) 2026" on the 1st and 2nd at Exhibition Hall 1 of the Daejeon Convention Center (DCC). The event is a new academic exchange platform and international conference created so that graduate students, professors and overseas researchers from the 30 national laboratory schools can share research results and strengthen academic cooperation.
USTIC marks its debut this year, expanding and reorganizing the academic sessions of the "UST Academic and Cultural Festival," which UST has held annually since 2010, into an international conference.
The aim is to merge the individual achievements that students and faculty have built up at each national laboratory school, creating synergy and establishing a sustainable foundation for future academic cooperation that goes beyond individual excellence.
Pre-registration for the conference drew about 850 people from 26 countries, including roughly 610 Koreans and 240 foreign nationals. Attendees included Batbold, president of the University of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences (UMAS), Kentaro Arikawa, vice president of the Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI) of Japan, and about 10 heads of government-funded research institutes affiliated with UST schools.
About 30 faculty members and students also attended from national laboratory universities in three countries that have partnerships with UST — the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), SOKENDAI and UMAS — as well as from major Asian partner universities where UST graduates serve as faculty, including Burapha University (BUU) in Thailand and the University of Science and Technology of Hanoi (USTH) in Vietnam.
The conference also features keynote lectures by prominent researchers from Korea and abroad on global research trends and insights into international research and development. On the first day, Zhang Xinfeng, a professor at UCAS and a globally promising researcher in artificial intelligence, gave a lecture titled "The New Era of 'AI Plus' in China." On the 2nd, Kim Jae-kyoung, a KAIST professor who leads the field of biomedical mathematics worldwide and heads the Biomedical Mathematics Group at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), will deliver a lecture titled "Synergy between Math and AI to solve human health problems."
The academic sessions reflect UST's major groups and are organized into six areas: flagship and digital innovation; bio and health (I); bio and health (II); space and basic science; energy and environment; and advanced manufacturing and mobility.
On the 2nd, UST will also hold the "3rd UST-UMAS Joint Forum" with UMAS, which was established on the basis of national research institutes under the Mongolian Academy of Sciences after benchmarking UST's education model. Under the theme "UST-UMAS Partnership: A Future Roadmap for Nurturing Global Talent," the two institutions will share their research-centered education systems, curricula and student support strategies, and discuss ways to spread the national laboratory-based university education model globally.
Kim Bok-chul, the former chairman of the National Research Council of Science and Technology (NST) who serves as general chair of USTIC 2026, said, "Professors and students from 30 schools nationwide are coming together in one place to create a venue for genuine communication and solidarity." He added, "We will do our best to establish USTIC as an authoritative academic brand."
Kang Dae-im, president of UST, said, "This will be a milestone that goes beyond a simple international conference, building UST's own distinctive academic identity, driving the convergence of multiple national laboratory schools and creating powerful synergy."
