In-jae Lee, President

Incheon National University held its 2026 New Year’s Kick-off Ceremony on the 2nd at the Faculty Hall, with approximately 300 attendees including Chairman Hak-jun Kim, President In-jae Lee, senior administrators, and faculty and staff members.

The ceremony consisted of the presentation of commendations to distinguished contributors, the New Year’s address by President In-jae Lee, and New Year greetings.

In his New Year’s address, President Lee stated, “Over the past year, we fully launched educational innovation in response to AI transformation, strengthened graduate education and research functions, and established international and external cooperation systems. In particular, the achievements of several professors selected as top global researchers demonstrate that our university’s research capacity has received meaningful recognition at the international level.”

He continued, “The higher education environment we now face is very different from the past, and the era in which national universities were naturally chosen simply because of their status has already passed. The role of a university lies in how knowledge is interpreted and verified, and how different bodies of knowledge are connected.”

He further emphasized, “We aim to expand AI-convergent education across both general education and major curricula, and within the RISE framework, to build an Incheon-style regional innovation model centered on our university’s specialized fields such as bio, robotics, AI, and marine studies. I also ask all members to come together in strength, as the establishment of a public medical school—long prepared together with citizens—is an important responsibility of our university.”

Group Photo of the 2026 Incheon National University New Year’s Kick-off Ceremony