□ Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) President Lee Kun-woo announced that the institute, together with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), and Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), is now recruiting participants for “GRAVITY 2026,” an integrated student startup league jointly hosted by the four science and technology institutes.
□ Named after the concept of gravity, GRAVITY is designed as a platform that draws together students who are challenging themselves in innovation and entrepreneurship. It is the largest startup league among science and technology institutes in South Korea, aimed at discovering promising pre-startup and early-stage startup teams with strong science- and technology-based business ideas and supporting their expansion into global markets.
□ GRAVITY 2026 will be operated through separate tracks for undergraduate and graduate students. Rather than serving as a one-time competition, it is designed to lead to the formation of actual startups and attract investment. In particular, it provides full-cycle support for student startup teams in deep-tech fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), bio and healthcare, robotics, and aerospace through startup activity funding, expert mentoring, and a global acceleration program.
□ Eligible participants include pre-startup and early-stage startup teams founded within the past five years by undergraduate and graduate students, as well as alumni of the four science and technology institutes—DGIST, KAIST, GIST, and UNIST. The competition will proceed through institutional preliminary and main rounds, followed by an integrated semifinal and final rounds.
□ Through this process, a total of 140 teams will be selected to receive tailored mentoring and funding for startup activities. The final 10 outstanding teams will be awarded prizes worth up to KRW 200 million and given the opportunity to participate in an overseas acceleration program linked to global venture capital firms.
□ Applications will be accepted from May 21 to June 10, 2026. However, DGIST has extended its application period until June 15 to accommodate the academic calendar. Applications may be submitted through the online application links provided by each institution.
□ DGIST President Lee said, “GRAVITY 2026 will serve as an innovation platform where science and technology talent can transform creative ideas into industrial value,” adding, “DGIST will focus all of its capabilities on nurturing global startup talent so that the institute’s unique technologies can lead to innovations that go beyond Korea and shape global markets”.
□ DGIST Value Creation Team Leader Mok Hyeon-seong stated, “GRAVITY 2026 is a practical platform that identifies future entrepreneurial talent who will lead Korea’s deep-tech startup ecosystem beyond the boundaries of individual universities,” adding, “Based on the close collaboration among the four science and technology institutes and regional technology-startup networks, we will continue to provide comprehensive, full-cycle support so that our students can minimize trial and error and confidently take on the global market.”
