□ The Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology (DGIST; President Kunwoo Lee) hosted the Commencement Ceremony for the Second Half of 2025 at the Convention Hall, Main Administration Building, at 2 p.m. on August 14, 2025 (Thurs.), and awarded diplomas to a total of 154 graduates: 55 PhD, 47 Master’s, and 52 Bachelor’s holders.
□ This ceremony was joined by about 500 attendees, including graduates, family members, faculty, and staff members, and a new beginning for graduates was celebrated with a speech by President Kunwoo Lee, congratulatory remarks by special speakers, and speeches by representatives for the graduates.
□ “You are now on a new starting line with the name of DGIST,” President Lee stressed. “Leadership comes not from having a title but from charting a new territory where others have not gone before.” In addition, he urged the graduates to “(i) become leaders who change the world, (ii) never stop learning, and (iii) remain grateful.”
□ “Despite the difficulty of science as a field, one in which you have to prove your own significance, don’t regret it. Science provides a foundation on which you can build endless answers,” said Distinguished Professor Jaechun Choe at Ewha Womans University, who was invited as a special speaker at the ceremony. “There are two paths ahead for DGIST graduates: a life of a bold and lonely path and a life of interdisciplinarity. I hope you reflect on yourself and live your life accordingly.”
□ The representatives for the graduates gave speeches, which also resonated deeply. “At DGIST, not only did we earn a degree, but we also learned the strength to not stop even when things do not go as planned, the patience to persevere in the face of failure, and the courage to believe in ourselves even in the face of uncertainty,” said Panda Swati (Department of Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering), who took the stage as the representative for graduate students: “I wish for all the graduates to walk their own paths with a warm heart and strong spirit.”
□ “At DGIST, we learned how to believe in ourselves and how to support each other,” said Gyumin Kim, the representative for undergraduate students looking back on his experiences with the Future Global Leaders Program (FGLP) at UC Berkeley, the Undergraduate Group Research Program (UGRP) to conduct research projects with students, and entrepreneurial startups. More specifically, he co-founded startups called Markworks and Friending, received the Award of Excellence at the Boost-up Youth Startup Idea Contest, and was selected for the Startup-Centered University Support Project of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
□ Meanwhile, thanks to its innovative interdisciplinary education and research-oriented human resources development system, DGIST has produced about 2,800 graduates since its foundation and is growing as a leader in science and technology across academia, research institutes, and industry in Korea and around the world.
□ In addition, DGIST continues to expand its influence around the globe, recently ranking fourth in the world and first in Korea for the number of citations per faculty in the 2026 QS World University Rankings. It will host the 2025 World Engineering Education Forum and Global Engineering Deans Council (WEEF-GEDC), the world’s largest engineering education event, in September.
