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UZ
1) Your name and surname, age, which faculty and what year did you graduate from Inha?
My name is Siyavushkhon Kholmatov, I’m 22 years old. I graduated from Inha University with a degree in Information and Communication Engineering (ICE) in Spring of 2021.
2) What is the name of the master’s program, university and city in Korea?
I entered the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) located in Daejong, South Korea for the Artificial Intelligence faculty with full tuition funding and a monthly scholarship. The educational program lasts 5 years, including Master`s and Doctorate (M.S. + Ph.D. Integrated) degrees.
3) What caused the choice of this particular university?
The university, which has a very strong teaching staff, is engaged in research and development in the field of advanced technologies. According to the QS World University Rankings, KAIST is ranked 41st among all universities in the world.
As mentioned earlier, an intensive study in an integrated master’s and doctoral program allows you to obtain a double degree in 5 years.
4) How intense was the competition?
Considering the fact that the university occupies a leading position not only in South Korea, but throughout the world, the flow of applications is very large. This greatly increases the competition among potential students.
It is interesting to note that the Faculty of Artificial Intelligence has never previously accepted students from Uzbekistan for master’s and doctoral programs due to high competition from all over the world. Me, Enver and Artyom – students of Inha university are the first in this direction.
5) Was it hard to pass the exams?
The KAIST admission process does not contain specific internal exams, but consists of several stages, such as an interview and a technical assignment test.
It can seem difficult and stressful at first, as there are certain difficulties in everything. But if you set a goal and strive to achieve it, then I think it is achievable.
6) What surprised you the most upon admission?
Firstly, the entrance itself, to one of the strongest universities in the world.
Secondly, I found out recently that I got to study under the guidance of the Head of the faculty himself, Dr. Song Chong.
And, of course, full funding for 5 years throughout the whole study.
7) What do you expect from studying at the University?
To get new knowledge, under the guidance of a scientific advisor to increase my theoretical knowledge, to apply it in practice.
In addition, to get a lot of new bright impressions, get to know more about Korean culture and make new friends.
And the most important is to show that the youth of Uzbekistan has all the potential to make themselves known to the whole world.
8) Plans for the future
Returning home, make my own contribution to the development of our country.
9) What role did Inha University (maybe professors) play in your student life?
Inha University will remain one of the brightest pages of my life. Here I met many different friends from all over our country. They say that it is during the student years the strongest friendship is born. Together we worked on joint projects, learned to overcome difficulties, tried to develop and only get better. And I am very glad that I was fortunate enough to continue my studies at KAIST with some of them.
I am grateful to IUT for giving me the opportunity to attend Inha University in Incheon, South Korea as part of the 2018 Summer School Contest. I was one of 10 students to whom the university provided full sponsorship for the summer program, it was my fortune to visit Korea for the first time.
I am grateful to the whole faculty who taught and supported us throughout our studies.
Especially, I’m grateful to Professor Francis Tai Noh who believed in me and advised me to try myself at KAIST by providing his letter of recommendation, as well as to Professor Bakhodir Akhmedov, who, in turn, supported the initiative and vouched for me by recommending to KAIST.
In addition, Dr. Alessandro Agostini, Chongkoo An, Hong Jeong, who were always happy to help and show the right path to the future.
Addressing young people, I want to say that there is no need to be afraid to change anything in your life if your heart and soul require it. Having betrayed yourself, you will torment yourself with thoughts of a lost opportunity for the rest of your life.
Strive, dare, and achieve all the best!
«KAIST is world-famous as Korea’s most competitive science and engineering university. Because of the fierce competition for admission, KAIST has not accepted a single Uzbek student so far. The KAIST AI Graduate School has a much higher competitive edge in admissions. I have handpicked three students to apply for through pre-filtering and introduced them to Head of AI Graduate School, Professor Song Chong. Dr. Chong decided to take the risk this time on my strong recommendation. I trust my students for the high expectations of KAIST AI graduate school. Enver and Artyom will be overseen by Professor Jae-Sik Choi (Director of Explainable AI Research), while Siyavushkhon Kholmatov research will be led by Professor Song Chong (Head of AI Graduate School).
I believe this is a great milestone not only for IUT but also for Uzbekistan» – professor Francis Tai Noh.