□ DGIST (President Kunwoo Lee) announced the successful conclusion of “2026 DGIST Startup Week,” held across the campus for two weeks from September 8 to 18 to celebrate the launch of the Innovation Startup Center, DGIST’s dedicated organization for entrepreneurship.
□ This Startup Week was the first large-scale event organized by the Innovation Startup Center, which oversees DGIST’s startup support functions. The event was designed to foster an entrepreneurship culture on campus based on outstanding science and technology research achievements and strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit of DGIST members. Approximately 500 people participated over the course of the event, including DGIST members and prospective startup founders from the Daegu area, demonstrating the strong enthusiasm for entrepreneurship.
□ The event’s centerpiece, the “Distinguished Speaker Lecture Series,” featured seven venture investors and entrepreneurs from Korea and abroad: Doug Duckjun Lee, CEO of D3Jubilee Partners; SJ Lee, CEO of Orum Therapeutics; Douglas Guen, CEO of Primer; Hyoyi Kim, CEO of Inertia; Yoonmi Eom, Chairperson of the Asan Nanum Foundation; Se Ung Kim, Vice President of Kakao; and Sang Han, Partner at East Ventures.
□ The speakers shared real-world know-how from the field under the theme “Entrepreneurship and Technology: How Do They Create Value for the World?” Each lecture drew dozens of students, faculty, and staff and received an enthusiastic response. Following the lectures, luncheon meetings were held, providing the speakers and students an opportunity to interact directly and exchange insights.
□ Moreover, various additional programs to make the event more engaging drew attention. A stamp tour event, which offered stamps and prizes to lecture attendees, encouraged high participation throughout the event. In particular, the “DGIST Entrepreneurship Is ○○○” slogan contest, which invited ideas from DGIST members, received a total of 250 entries. The creative and distinctive slogans selected through the contest will be actively used to promote DGIST’s entrepreneurship culture.
□ Furthermore, an exhibition showcasing the remarkable achievements of student startup teams was held in front of the Haedong Creativity Lounge on campus. The 10 teams that advanced to the finals of “GRAVITY 2026,” a joint startup competition among Korea’s four institutes of science and technology, and outstanding startup companies that received the “Entrepreneurship Award” at this year’s anniversary ceremony displayed posters introducing their core business ideas and achievements, drawing considerable attention.
□ “Above all, it is important that the university’s outstanding research achievements do not remain confined to the laboratory, but create new industries and social value through entrepreneurship,” emphasized DGIST President Kunwoo Lee. “With the Innovation Startup Center serving as a central hub, we will fully support the bold endeavors of our members and build a dynamic ecosystem in which innovative companies capable of competing on the global stage continue to emerge.”
□ DGIST plans to continue promoting deep-tech (based on advanced science and technology) startups through the Innovation Startup Center and operate a multifaceted support system encompassing the Startup League, Entrepreneurship Award, and Startup Week, thereby being instrumental in strengthening the competitiveness of future industries at the regional and national levels.
