International
Relations Team

In an effort to create a global community built on knowledge, research, and innovation,
KAIST annually hosts the International Presidential Forum on Global Research Universities (IPFGRU) in Korea.
IPFGRU was launched in 2008, with hopes to identify and address the pressing challenges of the world today, to create a sustainable world,
and to meet the demands of higher education in the 21st century. KAIST invites leaders from education, industry, and government from around the world
to share ideas and solutions for the future.

The 2013 IPFGRU, themed “The Role and Responsibility of Research Universities: Knowledge Creation, Technology Transfer, and Entrepreneurship,” brought more than 120 leaders from 57 universities and higher education institutions of 28 countries together in Seoul, Korea. The participants reaffirmed the IPFGRU Declaration: the potential imbedded within institutions of higher education, industry needs the support of universities for prolonged development, dissemination of the entrepreneurial spirit, and the need for partnerships with businesses for economic growth.

The 2013 IPFGRU re-examined the role of the research university in a globalized era in need of innovation and entrepreneurship for sustained economic growth, as well as the expectation and responsibilities that research universities face. As each research university faces the challenge of making full use of its unique regional advantages as it bridges the gap between academia and industry, the IPFGRU served as a global gathering of leaders in higher education, both the public and private sectors, and various institutes for the development of a clearly defined mission and values for the future of education.