KICS Convergence and integration of technologies and services in terms of the u-IT839 Strategy demands new approach On the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of its establishment last year, the Korean Institute of Communication and Sciences (KICS) is busy presenting its vision, called "Vision 2015." The KICS president Kyung-Sup Kwak who stands at the hub of its activities and concurrently as Director & Prof., UWB Wireless Communications Research Center as well as School of Information and Communication Engineering, Inha University in Incheon, Korea, emphasizes that the Institute deals with most parts of the government's IT839 strategy, among so many institutes in Korea, explaining that all members are devoting efforts to meet the society's expectation as an institute in tune with the u-IT839 strategy. Korea's top institute in the IT field What is most noteworthy among the Institute's activities this year, is that it is planning to organize hosts of international events such as APCC(Asia Pacific Communications Conference)/Wireless World Forum (focusing on WiBro and IMT-advanced) and so forth with the view of boosting its international phase and activating its activities. Prof. Kwak expects that such international events could serve as a good opportunity to be able to acquaint foreign scholars and associated experts with Korea's WiBro (Wireless Broadband Service), 4G and DMB (digital multimedia broadcasting). With such international events as an impetus, Kwak reveals his plans to develop current KICS into world level as a leading global Institute of Information Technology. As part of plans to strengthen internationally this phase, the KICS is further planning to re-illuminate the international journal JCN (The Journal of Communications and Networks), to establish its China Branch on April or May maybe this year, to increase international members and to enlarge exchange with renowned institutes globally such as IEEE/IEICE/CIC. Buoyed by its latent energy that the KICS has stretched itself as the highest institute of IT field in Korea over the past 30 years since its establishment in 1975, Kwak shows confidence that it is poised to launch as a global institute both nominally and virtually, regarding this year as the first year of its relaunch. Convergence of communication & broadcasting The domestic IT industry is in a phase that is confronting a new environment as the government adapts the IT839 Strategy in the interests of economy activation and accomplishing national income of $20,000. In 2005, WiBro business providers were selected for the first time in the world and further as DMB service begins, new changes are forecast in the IT industry this year. Such recent environments will accelerate the fusion of communication and broadcasting even more along with greater efficiency and sharing of wire & wireless resources, Kwak notes, keeping an eye on the fact that new cutting-edge technology's development and the necessity of new service development are urgently needed in that regard. From this point of view, the president emphasizes: "Particularly, now is the time our Institute which has been spearheading IT technology, should display true function through wide academic activity and exchange for the state-of-the-art technology as well as policy development." As the IT industry's major changes expected this year, Kwak names the fusion of broadcasting & communication, mobility, broadband, wirelessization and so forth, in connection with DMB, WiBro, IPTV, WRAN (TV business provider's Internet service introduction), WPAN(Personal Area Network) and WBAN (wearing computer/intelligent robot) etc. In particular, as users' desire demands bidirectionality, mobility, multimedia medium, user's convenience, and reasonable & convenient cutting-edge service, he maintains that the fusion of communication and broadcasting will be accelerated including such technology change as content's digitalization, Internet's development, wire & wireless integration, All-IP, network's broadband, and others. Regarding such fusion direction, Prof. Kwak said that it is desirable to facilitate market-initiative fusion with priority to be given to market-oriented policy, industry nurturing and national vision accomplishment policy, and competition furtherance policy. The hub of IT activities In regard of the necessity of relieving policy restrictions in conjunction with integration/ fusion of communication & broadcasting, Kwak proposes that industry nurturing is necessary to spearhead standardization and the government must unbind such restriction's frame in order to prepare the trend of fusionization at an early stage and to preoccupy the market. In this context, the Institute needs to have committed itself to leading the role in loosening restrictions. Buoyed by valuable experiences gained through his past 10 years' academic institute activities, president Kwak commits himself to devote intensive efforts during his tenure period on following areas: first, on enlarging member subscriptions to record numbers and activation of member activity, second, on reinforcing the Institute's international phase even more, third, on seeking more effective fund utilization method in terms of finances self-reliance, and on propelling women as well as branch chapter activation continuously plus boosting the quality of JCN International Journal, IT field's SCI (Science Citation Index) registration journal, one dimension higher. Backed by good finances self-reliance rather than any other institutes, its latent energy which stretched itself as the highest institute of IT field in Korea, and ambitious Vision 2015, he pledged that he will do his best in ushering the KICS into an institute for members, an institute in which academic exchange is activated, and an institute going to the world.