Global Korea Scholarship PhD Student Anna Povolná from the Czech Republic Shares Her Journey of Studying AI for Medical Imaging at KAIST, South Korea

I am Anna Povolná from the Czech Republic, and I studied at the Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering at CTU in Prague. I spent the first semester of my Master’s degree in Russia as an exchange student at Tomsk Polytechnic University. While still completing my Master’s, I began working at Na Homolce Hospital as a radiological physicist for the radiodiagnostic department.

The research for my Bachelor’s and Master’s theses, alongside my work experience in the hospital, led me to become more interested in AI for medical imaging. However, I felt this field was not well developed in the Czech Republic, whereas South Korea has high-quality research in this area. Furthermore, I always knew that if I were to pursue a PhD, I would do so in another country to gain more experience and ideally one with a non-European culture and a language I did not yet know, as I wanted to learn a completely new language and immerse myself in a different culture. These two reasons were more personal and were not primarily motivated by my academic experience or career growth. I was already interested in South Korea, Japan, and China. Since my older brother did his PhD in Japan, I was somewhat familiar with his experience. I ultimately chose South Korea for various reasons and have never regretted it, as it has given me exactly what I wanted.

Global Korea Scholarship Details

I was searching for different scholarships, but I ended up choosing and applying for the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) Embassy track, which gives you one year to learn the Korean language. I knew that if I were to learn the language while doing a PhD, I would not learn it that well. This was a very crucial point for me, because I fully live by the philosophy that if you live in a certain country, you should learn its language.

The GKS is provided by the government of the Republic of Korea, specifically implemented by the National Institute for International Education (NIIED). You can find all the details about the scholarship on their website: https://gksscholarship.com. I will just highlight that even this year, 2026, the airfare is not covered for Czech students, but the quota for the Czech Republic is now 4 people; it used to be only 2.

From the guide: “The round-trip airfare will not be provided to GKS scholars selected in China and the Czech Republic in accordance with the agreement made between the Korean government and the governments of the two countries.”

Were You Offered any Other Scholarships?

Not for my PhD studies. I previously received the GE Foundation Scholar-Leader scholarship in 2013, while I was doing my Bachelor's degree. However, this scholarship programme has already ended.

Educational Background

I did my Bachelor's in Dosimetry and Application of Ionizing Radiation, immediately continuing with my Master's in Radiological Physics. My GPAs are not particularly impressive (3.47 for my Bachelor's and 4.26 for my Master's out of 5.0), but I believe they were slightly better than the average GPA at my faculty. Honestly, I am not sure, because we do not really care about GPAs in the Czech Republic. It only started to matter when I decided to apply for the GKS. At that moment, I immediately took a few extra courses to improve my GPA for my Master's degree. Also, knowing that my GPAs were not the best, I tried to improve in other aspects, such as attending events at the Korean Embassy in Prague, and participating in or helping to organise various conferences and other research activities. The goal was to emphasise my social and networking skills, which can be evidenced by these various extracurricular activities.

How Did You Prepare to Apply to KAIST?

How Did You Find Information About the Global Korea Scholarship and KAIST?

The Internet. A basic Google search, followed by asking around through my network about the experience of studying at KAIST and SNU. Emailing professors can be tiring because many of them don’t reply, and the same applies to students. It helps if you have a direct connection to the person, but even if you don’t, you simply have to email more people; statistically, you then have a better chance that someone will reply.

Did You Take Any Standardized Tests? If So, How Did You Prepare for Them?

I took only the TOEFL to prove my English skills, as I didn’t speak Korean at all. A few days before the test, I went through the test structure, and then I tried some speaking exercises just to get used to talking to a computer.

How Did You Prepare to Apply to the Global Korea Scholarship?

First, read the manual properly. Especially recheck the information for your country, your degree, and so on, and whether you are even eligible for the scholarship.

Secondly, I searched for universities, majors, and professors. I took it for granted that you should email professors if you want to apply for graduate studies, but over the years, I have found out that people don’t do this.

So lastly, I emailed at least 15–20 professors (half of whom never replied) with my CV and basic information about myself, such as which scholarship I intended to apply for and which research topic I was interested in. Even through a simple email, you can find out quite a lot: is the professor even taking international students (3 of the professors replied that they do not), how is their English, how quickly do they reply to your email, and are you just a number on paper to them, or if they are genuinely interested in you. The best-case scenario is when they agree to an interview over a video call, but professors are busy people, so many of them accept or reject you based on your CV alone.

How is (was) Your Experience at KAIST?

Doing a PhD is not easy at any university or with any professor, but I believe I have chosen well. Obviously, there are many things that are not ideal (for example, the reality of integrating into Korean society with my limited Korean skills), but the most important thing is that I would still choose the GKS and KAIST again.

How Does KAIST Support International Students?

I think KAIST tries. We have a dedicated international office and an immigration centre on campus, which is very convenient. From my own experience and from what I know from my other international friends, you suffer far more if you don’t speak Korean, especially in daily life. This is something I considered obvious, but I have met many students who expected to have a very comfortable life at KAIST without knowing any Korean. There are still many things that need improvement, but even during the years I have been a student at KAIST, I can see many improvements.

Are Your Classes Conducted in English or Korean?

All the classes I took were in English; only one elective class I wanted to take was fully in Korean, so I tried it, but it was too hard for me, and I dropped it. Sometimes the discussions are conducted in Korean, but usually, you can ask the professor to translate for you into English.

What Did You Pursue After the Scholarship?

I plan to apply for an F-2-7-S visa and get a job at an international company in South Korea after I graduate.

Would Potential Students Have Any Problems Academically Not Knowing Korean? 

This depends on the university. At smaller regional universities, there are fewer students who are comfortable speaking English than at famous, large universities. However, knowing Korean is important, especially for daily life. That said, if you do not intend to stay in South Korea after your graduation, you can probably enjoy your studies without knowing the language, though you will have a limited experience.

What Do You Think Made Your Application Stand Out?

I think it was my personal statement, where I proved that even though I do not have the best grades, I have been involved in many different research activities from a young age. Also, compared to other students, I enjoy networking and have quite a lot of extracurricular activities.

I don’t have the exact statistics, so the following information might be incorrect. I think there were around 10 people applying for 2 spots for the graduate GKS programme in the Czech Republic alongside me; everyone except for me spoke some level of Korean. I believe I was the only one applying for a PhD, and there were only 2 of us from engineering. From the guidelines, I knew that the GKS prefers (to a certain degree) STEM students. Therefore, during the interview at the Korean Embassy, I emphasised the following:

I am fairly good at learning languages, knowing English at an advanced level (given my high TOEFL score), Russian at a slightly less advanced level (I studied all my courses at TPU in Russian), and Spanish at an intermediate level. Therefore, learning Korean in one year to TOPIK level 3 should not be a problem for me.

I am pursuing a PhD in a STEM field, and I have three professors (one at each chosen university) with whom I have already set up a preliminary plan for my PhD research.

What Advice Would You Give Those Looking to Apply for a Similar Scholarship?

Invest enough time in writing and reviewing your personal statement. Give it to a few other people to read and criticise so that your study goals are very clear. Do not worry; your plans and goals might change, but I think it is important to show that you have strong motivation and a solid plan to fulfill your goals. A PhD will get incredibly hard for everyone at some point, and if you don’t have very strong motivation, it will be harder for you to finish.

If possible, months before the interview, try to meet other students applying for the GKS in your country to find out your strengths and weaknesses compared to them. This will help you to prepare answers for questions about your weaknesses or determine how to distinguish yourself from others in advance. The interview was only 15 minutes in our case, so I wanted to be as ready as possible and give short but clear answers. For example, during the interview, they asked me the following questions:

Is this your first visit to the Korean Embassy?

What is my major (radiological physics) about?

How am I sure that I will be accepted to my chosen universities? (Since they are quite competitive).

I was expecting these or similar questions, so I was quite confident when answering them.