Seoul Science and Technology Integrated Graduate School

What Seoul Science and Technology Integrated Graduate School does

Seoul Science and Technology Integrated Graduate School (aSSIST) is a private Korean graduate school founded in 2004 and headquartered in Seoul's Seodaemun district, specializing exclusively in master's and doctoral education for working professionals. The school operates three degree tracks — an MBA (경영학석사), an MS in Engineering (공학석사), and an AI Convergence PhD (AI융합박사) — alongside an international degree program for foreign students and a Korean language institute (aSSIST 한국어학당). It also runs a dedicated corporate training division offering Mini MBA + Action Learning, Executive AI Education, DT Strategy, Sales Strategy Workshop, and HRD seminars, plus public executive open programs. Since 1998, aSSIST has held the Korean authorization from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) to deliver the CPSM (Certified Professional in Supply Management) certification, producing 1,700+ certified professionals across 250+ Korean companies.

The business model is diversified across five revenue streams: graduate degree tuition (MBA, MS Engineering, AI Convergence PhD, international degree), corporate customized training contracts, executive open programs, CPSM certification enrollment, and indirect revenue from academic publishing. Pricing is custom-quoted for corporate training (via [email protected]) and multi-year/subscription for CPSM cohorts; degree tuition is not publicly disclosed. The platform architecture relies on a library of 31 academic databases (O'Reilly, Oxford, JSTOR, ScienceDirect, KISS, DBpia, EBSCOhost, Academic Video Online, Statista, JoVE, IOP, etc.) accessed via single sign-on, supported by an in-house publishing ecosystem of six peer-reviewed journals (ABR, AI Management Research, ESG Research, Mechanism Research, Case Research, Convergence Korean Studies). Weekly seminar series (aSSIST BBS, SIE, Convergence Innovation Seminar, HRD Seminar, aSSIST On-Air) run via Zoom and on-site at the Finland Tower and main building Lecture Hall 202.

The go-to-market is hybrid: sales-led direct admissions for degree programs, B2B corporate training sales targeting HRD departments of mid-market and large enterprises, event-driven demand generation through public HRD seminars, and channel partnerships (ISM for CPSM, Sejong Hakdang Foundation for international Korean language teacher recruitment, Aalto/Helsinki for collaborative MBA). The school is governed by a Korean school corporation (학교법인) nonprofit legal entity, with 51-100 employees, 600+ doctoral alumni, and operating geographies covering South Korea, China, and Finland/Europe.

Name

Seoul Science and Technology Integrated Graduate School

Legal name

서울과학종합대학원대학교

Website

https://assist.ac.kr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Seoul Science and Technology Integrated Graduate School (aSSIST) is a private Seoul-based graduate school offering master's and doctoral degrees, corporate training, and CPSM certification to Korean working professionals and HRD departments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Graduate Degree Program Tuition: Revenue from enrolled students in master's (경영학석사, 공학석사) and doctoral (AI융합박사) programs targeting working professionals, as well as international degree programs for foreign students.
2. Corporate Customized Training (기업맞춤교육): Customized in-house training programs for enterprise clients including Mini MBA + Action Learning, Executive AI Education, CPSM Corporate Programs, DT Strategy, Sales Strategy Workshop, and HRD Seminars. Programs are tailored to the client's industry, organizational culture, rank structure, and business challenges.
3. Executive Open Programs (경영자 공개교육, 전문가 공개교육): Publicly available executive education and professional development programs open to individual participants, covering topics such as ESG, HRD, supply chain management, and AI leadership.
4. CPSM Certification Program: Revenue from Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM) exam preparation courses, operated in partnership with ISM (Institute for Supply Management). Both individual enrollment and corporate group programs are offered, with one-stop service from exam vouchers to certificate delivery.
5. Academic Journal and Research Publications: Revenue indirectly through research publications including ABR, AI경영연구, ESG연구, 메커니즘경영연구, 지속경영연구, 융합한국학 which attract graduate enrollment and corporate research partnerships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Seoul Science and Technology Integrated Graduate School (aSSIST) is a private graduate school in Seoul offering master's and doctoral degree programs (MBA, MS in Engineering, AI Convergence PhD) for working professionals, plus customized corporate training programs (Mini MBA + Action Learning, Executive AI Education, CPSM certification, DT Strategy, Sales Strategy Workshop). The institution also delivers executive open programs, academic research journals, Korean language education for international students, and operates an ecosystem of weekly interdisciplinary seminars (BBS, SIE, Convergence Innovation).

Product overview

Seoul Science and Technology Integrated Graduate School (aSSIST) is a specialized graduate university offering graduate-level business and technology education primarily for working professionals. Its product portfolio includes: (1) degree programs (MBA, MS in AI, AI Fusion PhD) targeting corporate employees and executives; (2) corporate/customized training programs including Mini MBA + Action Learning, Executive AI Education, CPSM certification, DT Strategy, Sales Strategy Workshop, and HRD seminars; (3) academic/seminar series (aSSIST BBS, SIE, Convergence Innovation Seminar, HRD Seminar, aSSIST on Air media content); (4) research journals (ABR, AI Management Research, ESG Research, Mechanism Research); (5) Sejong Hakdang Korean language program for international students; and (6) a comprehensive academic database subscription service with 31 database products including O'Reilly, ScienceDirect, Statista, and Korean research databases. The institution positions itself at the intersection of business management and technology, with particular emphasis on AI, digital transformation, ESG, and supply chain management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MBA for Working Professionals (경영학석사 직장인 대상) Accredited graduate MBA degree program designed for employed working professionals in Korea who wish to earn a Master of Business Administration while continuing their careers. Includes management theory and practical business application.
• MS in Engineering for Working Professionals (공학석사 직장인 대상) Master of Science in Engineering degree program for working adults, integrating technical depth with applied engineering knowledge for corporate employees.
• AI Convergence PhD (AI융합박사) Doctoral degree program in AI Convergence targeting working professionals, designed to develop global AI leaders by integrating AI with business management disciplines.
• CPSM Certification Program Certified Professional in Supply Management certification program operated in partnership with ISM (Institute for Supply Management). 99-hour curriculum covering strategic sourcing, risk management, negotiation, ESG, and digital AI-based innovation. Available via individual enrollment or corporate group programs with one-stop service from exam vouchers to certificate delivery.
• Mini MBA + Action Learning Customized corporate training program combining Mini MBA curriculum with action learning projects. Participants learn core business subjects (strategy, finance, production management, AI) and then apply them to real organizational challenges. Designed for core talent and executive candidates, primarily engineers and technical professionals.
• Executive AI Education Customized AI education for corporate executives and C-level leaders, focusing on AI-era leadership perspectives and organizational change rather than tool usage alone. Includes AI agent, automation, and data analysis case studies tailored to enterprise security environments.
• DT Strategy (Data Transformation Strategy) A data and AI upskilling program for non-technical employees, teaching coding-free AI usage for analyzing business data, building customer purchase pattern analyses, and constructing sales success rate prediction models.
• Sales Strategy Workshop (영업전략수립 워크샵) Workshop using AI and data analysis to identify high-potential customers, featuring coding-free machine learning, data visualization, and generative AI tool-assisted customer-tailored proposal creation. Includes 9 hours of workshop plus 4 weeks of on-site coaching.
• Executive Open Programs (경영자 공개교육) Publicly available executive education and professional development programs open to individual participants, covering topics such as ESG, HRD, supply chain management, and AI leadership.
• aSSIST Sejong Hakdang (세종학당) Korean Language Program Korean language education program operated by the university for international students, including overseas training program for prospective Korean language instructors in European regions under Sejong Hakdang Foundation partnership.
• International Degree Programs (외국인학위과정) Graduate degree programs (master's and doctoral) designed for international students, including Sino-Korean joint project programs (中外合作办学).
• ABR (aSSIST Business Review) Journal Peer-reviewed academic journal (ISSN 3092-0701) published by aSSIST covering business strategy, AI research, finance, and management studies. Published multiple times per year including special issues.

Quantifiable outcome

• GenAI investment delivers up to 3.2x ROI for procurement organizations (Deloitte, 2025 CPO Survey)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sejong Hakdang Foundation (세종학당재단)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026aSSIST participates in the Sejong Hakdang Foundation's 2026 overseas training program for prospective Korean language teachers in European regions. The school recruits, screens, and trains pre-Korean language teachers through this structured international program, with training conducted at aSSIST's facilities in Seoul. This partnership aligns with aSSIST's operation of its Korean language institute (aSSIST 한국어학당) under its foreign degree program.
• ISM (Institute for Supply Management)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerISM (founded 1915, the world's most authoritative supply chain professional body) grants aSSIST authorization to deliver its CPSM (Certified Professional in Supply Management) certification curriculum in Korea. aSSIST is Korea's first and most established ISM-certified CPSM education provider (since 1998). ISM provides the global certification standard, curriculum framework, and examination system; aSSIST provides localized Korean-language instruction, exam preparation, and one-stop exam administration service. Over 27 years, this partnership has produced 1,700+ CPSM-certified professionals in Korea from 250+ companies.
• RISS (Research Information Sharing Service, 학술연구정보서비스)minorOthersaSSIST students access RISS for off-campus academic database access. Individual student login via RISS provides 24-hour access to the platform's resources. Some of the 14 specialized database items on aSSIST's academic DB list require a university domain email for personal account creation.
• KISS (Korean Studies Information Service, Kiss kstudy)minorOthersKISS provides aSSIST with access to 3,351 academic journals (e-Journal, Proceedings, e-Book) across all subject areas, including 730 KCI-registered journals and 91 SCOPUS-indexed journals. KISS is provided to aSSIST students via the institution's academic database subscription.
• DBpiaminorOthersDBpia provides aSSIST with access to Korean academic journals, conference proceedings, and e-books. The platform includes SCI-level journals with approximately 1,844 journal titles available through aSSIST's institutional subscription.
• EBSCOhost (Business Source Complete + eBook Business Collection)minorOthersEBSCO provides Business Source Complete (world's largest full-text business academic database with 1,600+ business magazines and journals, including 900+ peer-reviewed journals) and eBook Business Collection (16,641 titles from 375 publishers including Taylor & Francis, Wiley, Elsevier, AMACOM, Bloomsbury) to aSSIST under institutional subscription.
• O'Reilly Higher EducationminorOthersO'Reilly Higher Education provides aSSIST with access to IT-focused books, videos, tutorials, and educational materials foundational to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as part of aSSIST's academic database offering for students and faculty.
• Academic Video Online (AVON, Alexander Street)minorOthersAVON provides aSSIST with streaming video access to 50,000+ academic videos across all subject areas, curated for academic use, accessible via the institution's academic database subscription.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• KAIST College of Business: Korea's premier technology-focused graduate business school, competing with aSSIST for working-professional MBA students and corporate AI/tech training contracts. KAIST has stronger research prestige and brand among tech executives but aSSIST differentiates on practitioner-oriented, action-learning curriculum and ISM CPSM certification monopoly.
• Yonsei University School of Business: One of Korea's top-tier MBA programs with strong executive education and corporate training offerings targeting the same Korean working-professional segment as aSSIST. Yonsei has deeper brand recognition but aSSIST competes on specialized certifications (CPSM) and AI-focused programming.
• Korea University Business School: Top Korean MBA program (KUBS) accredited by AACSB and EQUIS, competing for the same executive education and corporate training budgets as aSSIST. Korea University has stronger academic brand, but aSSIST's CPSM partnership with ISM and AI Convergence PhD offer differentiated practitioner-oriented credentials.
• Seoul National University Business School: Korea's most prestigious state university business school, offering MBA, MS, and PhD programs plus executive education. SNU competes with aSSIST for top-tier Korean executive students and corporate training contracts; aSSIST differentiates through practitioner focus and proprietary certifications.
• Sungkyunkwan University (SKK GSB): Leading Korean graduate business school with MBA and executive education programs targeting working professionals — same target customer segment as aSSIST. SKK's partnership with MIT Sloan for executive education represents a competing premium positioning.
• Hanyang University Business School: Korean university with established MBA and executive education programs competing in the same working-professional segment as aSSIST. Hanyang offers broader general management training while aSSIST focuses on specialized certifications and AI/supply chain expertise.

Emerging players

• INSEAD: Global MBA and executive education powerhouse with strong Asian presence; competes for the most senior Korean executives seeking international credentials. INSEAD competes with aSSIST's executive programs at the high end, though aSSIST's local-language delivery and Korean-context curriculum serve a different buyer need.

Regional players

• National University of Singapore Business School: Asia's leading graduate business school with strong Korean student recruitment and executive programs. NUS competes with aSSIST for Korean executives seeking Asian-region MBAs and executive credentials.
• Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB): China's leading private graduate business school focused on executives and working professionals, with expanding Korean footprint. CKGSB's Chinese executive education model parallels aSSIST's Korean working-professional positioning, and it could become a cross-border peer as Sino-Korean joint programs develop.

Others

• Korea Executive Education Association member schools: Industry association representing Korean executive education providers; membership includes many of aSSIST's direct competitors for corporate HRD contracts. Relevant for understanding the broader Korean corporate training ecosystem in which aSSIST competes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@assistforyou
• Facebookfacebook.com/assistforyou
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1652626
• Xx.com/assist_mba

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Seoul Science and Technology Integrated Graduate School