UNIST Office of Research Affairs successfully held the 2025 Certified Research Administration Education Program at UNIST from October 29 to 31, 2025.
The program is part of the regular curriculum of the U Research Administration Academy, which was launched in July 2025 to systematically cultivate professional research administration personnel. Building on the strong response to the inaugural training held earlier this year, the second session was designed to reflect on-site feedback, with an expanded focus on advanced instruction and practice-oriented training tailored to real-world research administration needs.
Approximately 100 research administration professionals participated in the program, representing UNIST as well as regional institutions including DGIST, the University of Ulsan, and Ulsan College. Continued high interest following the first session underscored growing regional demand for structured, professional training in research administration.
The three-day program placed a strong emphasis on field-based practice, offering core lectures applicable across the R&D lifecycle. Topics included integrated management of student labor costs, administration of industry-sponsored projects, operation of projects funded by the Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP), fundamentals of technology transfer, and practical handling of withholding and value-added taxes.
To further enhance learning outcomes, the program also featured hands-on workshops covering RCMS settlement procedures, IRIS system operations, research fund execution practices, and personnel cost management for national R&D projects.
A special lecture on AI utilization strategies and practical prompt techniques was delivered by Soo-Gyun Beum, Head of the Information Security Team. Through case-based examples, the lecture addressed leadership and practical applications of AI in the workplace. He emphasized that AI should be viewed as a tool for improving efficiency and that research administrators need the capability to apply such technologies immediately in their daily work.
KwanMyung Kim, Director of the Office of Research Affairs, noted, “Research administration is the invisible foundation that enables research to take place and move forward. We hope this program serves as an opportunity to further strengthen professional expertise while fostering collaboration and networks among practitioners.”
Launched in July 2025, the U Research Administration Academy serves as an education platform designed to develop personnel with a comprehensive understanding of the full R&D cycle and immediately applicable practical skills. The academy operates in close alignment with UNIST’s Research Administration Certification System, which provides institutional support for hands-on, competency-based education.
The certification system evaluates professional expertise and practical capability in research administration and grants official certification based on defined training requirements. Currently being piloted at UNIST, the system is scheduled to expand to external institutions beginning next year.
UNIST President Chong Rae Park stated, “Building on this program, UNIST will further institutionalize its research administration training system. By expanding collaborative education with external institutions, we aim to establish UNIST as a central hub for nurturing professional research administration talent nationwide.”
