"Can you fix a broken radio?"
This is a question a friend asked me after I entered the Department of Electronic Engineering. Well, I did answer. "In electronic engineering, we learn the principles of how to build a radio; fixing broken electronics isn't really what we do..."
There are more cases where a problem solver is needed rather than an expert armed with theory. I believe that solving real-world problems is more important.
Recently, I have been working on solving problems in various industrial sectors—such as finance, energy, electronics, heavy equipment, logistics, drug discovery, and food—using machine learning. It is a field with so much to learn and endless opportunities. Although my primary role is a professor (Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Kangwon National University), my deep interest in solving real-world problems has led me to hold several concurrent positions. I currently serve as the Director of the AI Drug Discovery Training Center, an Adjunct Professor at KAIST, and the CEO of Data Science Lab.
I believe that the most essential talent in the AI era is a data scientist who can solve real-world problems, and I hope all of you become highly sought-after data scientists.