On Tuesday, November 25, the Institute of Industrial Science (IIS), the University of Tokyo, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Industrial Design at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), South Korea. The signing ceremony was conducted virtually.
From KAIST, the ceremony was attended by Prof. Hyeon-Jeong Suk (Department Head), Prof. Woohun Lee, Prof. Youn-kyung Lim, Prof. Chang Hee Lee, Prof. Tak Yeon Lee, Prof. Hyunjoon Park, and Prof. E Roon Kang. Representing IIS were Director General Prof. Hiroshi Toshiyoshi, Prof. Kotaro Imai, Lecturer Hyunjung Kim, and Project Research Associate Yuri Klebanov.

KAIST was founded in 1971 as Korea's first graduate-focused science and engineering university and began undergraduate education in 1986. The Department of Industrial Design--the first industrial design department to be established within a College of Engineering in Korea--has been a global leader in integrating design and technology to create positive social impact since 1986. ID KAIST currently has 15 full-time faculty members and 7 affiliated faculty members, with 81 undergraduate students, 44 master's students, and 40 doctoral students. It is internationally recognized, ranking 28th worldwide and 1st in Korea in the 2025 QS World University Rankings (Arts & Design).

IIS and KAIST's Department of Industrial Design have already built a meaningful relationship over recent years. The IIS internship program welcomes ID KAIST students every summer, and several ID KAIST alumni are now contributing to IIS research and education as active members of the community.

Through the signing of this MOU, IIS and ID KAIST aim to deepen cross-disciplinary collaboration in design, engineering, and emerging technologies. The agreement formalizes a shared vision to foster innovative research and the next generation of scholars who can bridge these fields.

（Hyunjung Kim, Lecturer, DLX platform）

From left: Project Research Associate Yuri Klebanov, Prof. Kotaro Imai, and Director General Prof. Hiroshi Toshiyoshi (holding the signed MOU), and Lecturer Hyunjung Kim. The center screen shows faculty members from ID KAIST.