UNIST will launch its College of AI Convergence (name tentative) in September 2026, bringing education in computing, engineering, AI, and design into a single academic structure shaped by real-world industrial problems.

On July 11, the UNIST Board of Directors approved the reorganization of the College of Information and Biotechnology on August 11, 2026. The new structure will apply to undergraduates entering in 2027.

The college will encompass six majors, which includes Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Industrial Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Human-Centered Design Engineering.

It will also introduce eight interdisciplinary pathways that apply AI to fields, including shipbuilding and maritime engineering, aerospace, defense, materials, semiconductors, and health care. Rather than remain within a single department, students will be able to combine coursework across fields and shape their studies around particular technologies, industries, or career goals.

Industry Inspired Learning (IIL) will be a central part of the curriculum. Through the program, companies and research institutes will provide problems and data drawn from their work. Students will examine these challenges with faculty and industry specialists, applying what they learn in class to develop possible solutions.

Promising projects may continue as graduate research and, where appropriate, move toward use in industrial settings—an approach UNIST calls Lab-to-Factory. This creates a direct path from undergraduate coursework to advanced research and practical application without treating them as separate stages.

The reorganization responds to growing demand for AI expertise in major industries across Southeast Korea. To support the expansion, UNIST will admit an additional 100 undergraduate and 100 graduate students with government funding beginning in 2027.

“The College of AI Convergence will take real problems from industry as the starting point for teaching and research, then work to turn the resulting solutions into new technologies,” said UNIST President Chong Rae Park. “By bringing UNIST’s research strengths together with expertise from key industries, we aim to prepare graduates who can lead the practical adoption of AI.”