Admission: 2009 Spring ITTP Master Program, 2011 Fall ITTP Ph.D Program

Affiliation: KAIST Global Commercialization Center

Position: Research Assistant Professor

“The 3Es, Education, Experience, and Exposure that I have acquired through the program have transformed me both professionally and personally.”

My Story – my life in Korea

It is such a pleasant moment for me to recall my past days in Korea that have been highly promising and rewarding to me and my family.

I can’t believe that it has already been more than 12 years since I landed in Korea on February 10, 2009, to join the Master’s program in Global ITTP. I can still remember my feelings of joy and excitement as I first embarked on this journey.

However, it wasn’t all ice cream and butterflies. On the flip side, I had big concerns for many uncertainties, particularly relating to the language barrier that I had personally experienced on my first visit to Seoul in the late 90s. An experience that was so “colorful” that it left me with indecisiveness and concerns about managing my family in Korea.

To my surprise, in the very first meeting with the Program Director, Prof. Rho, he inquired about when I was inviting my family to Korea and advised me to discuss my plans with the office. Even in that first meeting with him, I could sense that he was looking past just my academic life and was sincerely concerned about my level of comfort and my family getting acclimated to Korea. This is something that continues even after graduation from ITTP. Accordingly, the ITTP office had also put in much effort in assisting my family with relocation in the early days. Prof. Chun took the burden of running the “Wife’s Korean Class” voluntarily and the ITTP office organized regular events and functions with families. With these in place, it did not take us long to feel like we had become members of a global family. I must acknowledge that the “Wife’s Korean Class” was so valuable for my family as it not only allowed my wife, Mala, to learn basic Korean but also provided her with the opportunity to make many friends and engage the children in fun activities. While my two daughters (Chandni & Aakriti) were enrolled in elementary school, my son, Lakshya was one and a half years old when he started playing, drawing, and so on in the Wife’s class. Both of my daughters graduated high school here and my son grew up around ITTP, which provides me additional attachment to this place that I can proudly call Daejeon, my second home.

The program provided numerous opportunities to explore Korea through cultural trips (Andong mask, Pottery making, etc.), visits to many traditional places (Hanok Village Jeonju, Gwangju, etc.), and organized learning events for families such as Korean cooking and handicraft making that have rooted deep into the good memories of my ITTP life. The ITTP program itself is a source of experiencing global culture, learning about the tradition, food, costume, lifestyle from a well diverse group of global participants in the program that ultimately led to establishing a strong bond of friendship with people from so many countries around the world, to remain as lifetime valuable assets.

What surprised me the most about ITTP is that it is a customized program for public officers with a rigorous academic curriculum that not only provides opportunities for students to undertake KAIST regular courses but also avails countless occasions to interact with industry leaders from leading public and private institutions through seminars, conferences, and workshop events. The academic visits to industries and research institutions were invaluable and allowed me to observe the latest technologies, witness the roadmaps of new technology, and grasp the direction of future technology development. Such efforts from ITTP are highly meaningful, providing an opportunity to build professional networks and make associations with experts and industries for global collaboration.

Over the years, we traveled to several places across Korea. Korea is a beautiful country, filled with planned cities, which are very well connected by highways making driving through the country while enjoying the natural scenery a pleasure. All four seasons are distinct and we enjoy cherry blossoms in the spring, equally the colorful leaves in the fall, and having my children skiing in the winter. Cities are thriving in a modern fast-paced lifestyle, showing faith in trending fashions. There are many things to explore all around Korea. Our visits to Jeju Island and Busan are memorable ones to my family. Korean food is also very delicious and unique. We enjoy the food very much. People are honest and friendly. They show a positive attitude towards helping foreigners. We have established social relationships with quite a few Korean families, have made several family trips together for camping, hiking, golfing, and others. These social ties are long-lasting treasures that will keep us connected with Korea.

In sum, the 3Es, Education, Experience, and Exposure that I have acquired through the program have transformed me both professionally and personally. I had initially come to accomplish the Master’s degree only, but I am indebted to ITTP and Prof. Rho who offered me the opportunity to pursue a Ph.D. and provided continuous guidance and support to give stability to my family during our stay in this foreign land. The academic journey after over 16 years of work in the industry was obviously daring and challenging, however, the able mentorship and supervision from my academic advisor, Prof. Han has been overwhelming throughout to honor my Ph.D. graduation in 2015.

In the second inning of my life in Korea, I feel very privileged to be associated with ITTP as a Research Advisor and Adjunct Professor. I enjoyed the opportunity lecturing about “Research Design and Methodology” for three years and offering research advice to Masters and Ph.D. students at ITTP. At the same time, I have had the honor to join the School of Business and Technology Management (BTM) at KAIST as a Research Assistant Professor, where I could enhance my research abilities to excel in productive research works at Synosia lab.

Currently, I am associated with the Global Commercialization Center (GCC) of KAIST, which is focused on commercializing Korean technology in the global marketplace. It allows me to deepen my professional associations with Korean technology developers and gain in-depth knowledge of new technologies. I am extensively involved in assessing the technology needs of different countries and developing global collaborations for technology commercialization and joint technology development between Korea and foreign countries. It is yet another capability-building opportunity to develop global projects and expand my professional network.

I consider myself very fortunate to witness the 16th anniversary of ITTP on February 19, 2022. Undoubtedly, it is a historical and proud moment for all ITTP alumni to celebrate as the program crosses 16 fruitful years. At this moment, I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate all ITTP officials and the Government of Korea for successfully running the program and making an immense contribution to the Global ICT development by producing almost 300 “Global IT Leaders” from 70 countries, most importantly, becoming an enabler for global collaboration to realize its ultimate vision of making the World a better place for the Future through global cooperation Together. I wish all the success and fortune to the Global ITTP family in the days to come.

Prayag Lal Yadav, PhD

Research Assistant Professor

KAIST Global Commercialization Center