Anonymous donor gives 200 million won to GIST to fulfill mother's wish

□ An anonymous donor has given 200 million won to the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST, President Seung Hyeon Moon) for the purpose of encouraging science and engineering students with scholarships as a tribute to the life and memory of the donor's mother.

∘ The donor's mother expressed her intention to donate her property for scholarships to be used where she lived, and this intention was fulfilled with the generous donation to GIST.

□ The donor's mother was born in a poor family in Seoul and lived a difficult life until she passed away last summer at the age of 92. During her life, educational opportunities for women were limited, so she only received an elementary school education. However, she also had a clear philosophy of life that a woman's opportunity should be on par with men.

∘ The donor's mother lived in Mokpo during the Korean War, and her sister was born there. Her family remembers Mokpo and Jeolla province with heartbreak and anguish because of its history of war and evacuation.  After moving to Seoul, the donor's mother often visited Jeolla-do to recall her memories.

□ In deciding to donate to GIST, the donor considered the most important factor to be the high quality education of female students at an excellent science and engineering school. He also mentioned that he frequently visited Gwangju and GIST in its early days and wondered how the school would continue to grow in the future.

∘ In spite of its short history of 25 years since its establishment, GIST has grown to become a world-class research-oriented university in Korea, so the donor decided to donate to GIST because it is expected to make new leaps forward, especially with the establishment of a business center based on artificial intelligence.

∘ The donor also want to help female students in the field of science and engineering.

□ The donor wishes to remain anonymous because he does not enjoy public formalities and his mother also lived a quiet and humble life.

∘ "The best thing about GIST is that it meets my mother's best wishes to support female talents, and I have a desire to donate it according to my mother's wish within the next 10 years. I also hope that through my donation, more people will contribute to GIST in the future as I continue to watch GIST grow from afar."

□ GIST, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, has been focusing on improving its educational and research capabilities for its graduate schools as it maintains its reputation as a world-class research institute with its third place QS world ranking for citations per faculty.