IBS President’s Message at the 2016 IBS Annual Meeting

KIM Doochul, IBS President delivered his message at the 2016 IBS Annual Meeting at Daejeon Hotel ICC on November 17. President Kim went over the milestones that IBS has achieved during the past five years and shared IBS' future visions. The summary of the message is as follows:

Who We Are

Since its foundation in November 2011, IBS has been playing a unique role as Korea's first dedicated research institution in basic science. Based on its four principles - Excellence, Openness, Creativity, and Autonomy, IBS promotes large-scale and long-term group research that the Korean government could not afford to support until recently.

What We Have Done

During the past five years, IBS has grown into a sizable research institution - 26 Research Centers including 59 research groups with more than 2000 scientists and post-graduate students, and 317 technical and admin staff members (as of October 2016).

Among a number of major milestones, IBS has proved its rapidly growing clout as one of rising stars in the global science community. In the 2016 Nature Index, IBS took the 11th place on the top 100 list, and IBS young scientists are making their mark with major research papers published as one of corresponding authors. Nature highlighted IBS as an integral element of Korea's transition toward a creative knowledge economy.

Where We Are Going

It is a critical moment for IBS to make a transition from a new research institution to a major global basic science hub. Starting at the end of the next year, IBS staff will move into a new IBS HQ. We envision our new home, IBS HQ to grow into an urban science park that serves as the hub for global talents, multidisciplinary research laboratory, and catalyst for disseminating knowledge.

In addition to its efforts to offer world's leading research facility, such as an heavy ion accelerator named, RAON, IBS has been keen to fostering next-generation basic science leaders as manifested in its "Young Scientist Fellowship (YSF)" program. Guaranteeing autonomy and full support for researchers, IBS HQ Centers will create policies and opportunities for young scientists to lead their own research projects.

Instead of being satisfied with its internal growth during the past five years, IBS also aims to achieve a broad transformation by leading the paradigm shift in the country. Most of all, believing that autonomy in research maximizes researchers' creativity, IBS will continue to support curiosity-driven, bottom-up research. It is IBS' hope to become a place where scientific researchers can start their own research with full autonomy in research guaranteed.