Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST, 한국과학기술원) is South Korea's foremost public research university and national institute of science and technology, situated in Daejeon's Daedeok Innopolis. Established on February 16, 1971, by the South Korean government under a dedicated presidential decree with USAID funding and architectural guidance from Stanford University provost Dr. Frederick E. Terman, it originally opened as the Korea Advanced Institute of Science (KAIS) in Seoul before merging with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and later consolidating with the Korea Institute of Technology (KIT) in 1989 to relocate to Daejeon. Operating under the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) rather than the Ministry of Education, KAIST enjoys extraordinary institutional autonomy. Widely celebrated as the 'MIT of South Korea', KAIST has anchored South Korea's historic transformation into a global technological and industrial superpower, driving planetary frontiers in semiconductors, walking robotics (HUBO), artificial intelligence, aerospace, and deep-tech entrepreneurship.

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