“The digital era needs ambidextrous experts that have capability in both their professional field and AI technology. We need ambidextrous intellectuals that are experts of economics, business, finance, or medicine in one side and has data science analyzing ability on the other.

Sangkyun Cha, director of SNU Big Data research center (Professor of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering) emphasized the importance of ‘ambidextrous intellectuals’ at the ‘Maekyung-IBM Sync Summit Korea’ as the keynote speaker, which was held in Shilla Hotel, Jung-gu, Seoul on the 11th of June. Intellectuals that has knowledge in one’s professional field and the ability to handle data of the corresponding field will play a key role in the fourth industrial revolution.

Professor Cha said, “For Korea’s next quantum jump, we need the capital, technology, and service. However, all of this is created by human. The fight between China and America is a crisis but if we make use of the new area where we can take action, it can be the foundation of a quantum jump. He explained that if we can create a virtuous cycle where Big Data and AI can create new services and more data can be created when people make use of them, new business models can be discovered naturally.

While professor Cha strived to create a graduate school for data science in SNU until now, he said that the traditional relationship between industries and academia is no longer meaningful and urged the importance of founding startups inside universities and the Silicon Valley model, where large enterprises in the private sector makes investments.

Professor Cha said, “In Sillicon Valley, there is an ecosystem between the founders, venture capitals, and venture law firms. Not only this, but also successful startup heroes are further expanding the virtuous cycle by investments and donations. We should also follow this model.”

While showing the video of the data science class for year 1 students in UC Berkeley, professor Cha conveyed that in last year’s fall semester, more than 1500 students came to take the course which were notified as a data science class for students just out of high school.

Source: http://ee.snu.ac.kr/community/news?bm=v&bbsidx=49016
Translated by Kyungjin Lee, English Editor of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, jin11542@snu.ac.kr