Selected teams receive 50 million won in startup funding, specialized mentoring and tailored graduation requirements

Kim Seung-il, an integrated-course student at the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science school, presents at the UST startup track conversion selection evaluation. [UST]
Kim Seung-il, an integrated-course student at the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science school, presents at the UST startup track conversion selection evaluation. [UST]

The University of Science and Technology (UST) announced Wednesday it had selected five teams through its "2026 UST Startup Track" competition, aimed at fostering deep tech entrepreneurship among graduate students.

The UST Startup Track is a distinctive entrepreneurship model built around "national research institute deep tech student-professor co-founding," in which a student and their supervising professor form a team and launch a venture together.

The model centers on first-author UST students — the primary contributors to research outputs and technology developed at national research institutes — and their supervisors jointly taking on founding roles, sharing responsibilities and equity as they step beyond the laboratory. Either the professor or the student may serve as CEO or CTO. The current selection round is the "conversion" type of the startup track, meaning enrolled students switch tracks to pursue graduation through entrepreneurship rather than the conventional research path.

The five selected teams presented startup concepts grounded in cutting-edge proprietary technologies developed at their respective national research institutes.

The "UST Guardian" team from the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science school proposed an ultrasonic remote measurement platform targeting hazardous industrial facilities where sensors are prone to damage from extreme heat or harmful substances. The team is targeting the global non-destructive testing market, projected to reach 31 trillion won ($20.2 billion) by 2031.

The "MH NOVA" team from the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology school is targeting the domestic road maintenance market with an AI-based deep tech solution, setting goals of 500 million won in first-year sales and a 20-fold revenue increase within three years. The team proposed commercializing a digital road integrated decision-making platform that uses AI to analyze road data collected from dashcams and drones, enabling real-time damage diagnosis and condition forecasts up to 10 years ahead.

Each selected team receives 50 million won in startup project funding, and students are given opportunities to attend international technology exhibitions such as CES. A specialized practical curriculum covering accounting, patents and investment attraction will also be offered.

The main building of the University of Science and Technology. [Herald DB]
The main building of the University of Science and Technology. [Herald DB]

Students who convert to the startup track may, at their own discretion, apply alternative graduation requirements. Doctoral students who meet case-by-case criteria set by UST's Startup Operations Committee — such as establishing a corporation — can substitute the standard requirement of publishing at least one first-author paper in an SCIE-level journal. Master's students may submit a startup report in place of a thesis.

Beyond the five selected teams, five reserve candidate teams will also receive intensive startup mentoring: Choi Chi-ho, chief executive of Korea Science and Technology Holdings, will mentor three teams, while Kim Cheol-hwan, chairman of the Kite Entrepreneur Foundation, and Lee Kang-su, chief executive of Company K Partners, will each mentor one team. The reserve teams will undergo a re-evaluation in the second half of this year after strengthening their entrepreneurial capabilities. The five teams that did not meet the requirements will also be offered continued education and mentoring, and given the opportunity to reapply, if they wish.

Through this phased development and second-chance system, UST plans to ensure that outstanding deep tech developed at national research institutes reaches commercialization rather than going to waste — strengthening the practical impact of its support for student and professor entrepreneurs.

"We will strategically and systematically provide motivation and capacity-building opportunities to students and professors with the will to start businesses, so that outstanding research results can be reborn as products and services in the market and create new value," UST President Kang Dae-im said.


nbgkoo@heraldcorp.com