KSEF — KOREA SCIENCE & ENGINEERING FAIR
Extend coursework learning into an independent KSEF research project
CIT helps students develop a new research question, collect or analyze new evidence, create student-owned code or experiments, and prepare a defensible report, poster and presentation. Competition selection and international nominations follow annual official rules and are not guaranteed.
Published and reviewed by CIT Intelligence Architect · Last reviewed July 11, 2026
What KSEF is
KSEF is the Korea Science & Engineering Fair, a student science-project event organized by Korea Science Service (한국과학기술지원단). The official English information describes Grades 5–12 and teams of one to three students, but applicants must verify eligibility, division, category, documents and schedule in the official notice for their event year.
ANNUAL FACTS · VERIFIED JULY 11, 2026
Verify every time-sensitive fact before entering
| Field | Current page status | Action before entry |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 cycle | Closed, archived: domestic registration ran Nov. 24–Dec. 16, 2025; the announced final-judging window was Jan. 9–11, 2026. International registration ran Nov. 17–Dec. 9, 2025, with online judging Jan. 3–4, 2026. | Do not reuse these dates. Wait for and follow the next official division notice. |
| Official event name | Confirmed: KSEF — Korea Science & Engineering Fair | Use this name; do not use unrelated Korean event names. |
| Organizer | Confirmed: Korea Science Service, 한국과학기술지원단 | Recheck the annual notice for co-hosts or sponsors. |
| Eligible grades | Published general information: Grades 5–12 | Confirm the event year and division notice. |
| Team size | Published general information: one to three students | Confirm category-specific rules for the event year. |
| Domestic / international divisions | Year-specific: divisions may be announced separately | Use only the division named in the student’s applicable notice. |
| Categories | Year-specific: not hard-coded on this evergreen page | Choose from the current notice, not an archived list. |
| Registration and submission dates | Year-specific: check official notice | Record opening, deadline and timezone from the notice. |
| Required documents | Year-specific: check official notice and forms | Confirm report, consent, ethics/safety and presentation files. |
| Presentation date, language and fee | Year-specific: check official notice | Do not infer these from a previous year. |
| International nomination | Separate annual selection: not automatic | Confirm eligible events, quotas, selection and preparation notices. |
Source owner: CIT Intelligence Architect · Verified 2026-07-11 · Status: the 2026 cycle is closed; stable facts are confirmed and every future-cycle detail requires its applicable official notice.
ISEF finalist and Student Observer are different
ISEF finalist
A student selected through an eligible route to compete at Regeneron ISEF with a qualifying project, subject to that year’s official rules and paperwork.
Student Observer
A separate educational attendance status. An observer does not compete as a finalist and must not describe the experience as finalist qualification.
KSEF awards, international-team selection, ISEF preparation and observer participation can appear in separate notices. A fixed award-to-ISEF progression must not be promised.
From coursework concept to a distinct KSEF project
1. Map the boundary
Record assessed reports, earlier code, data, figures, conclusions and teacher feedback. Confirm school permission where required.
2. Add a new contribution
Create a distinct question and add new data, experiment, method, comparison, engineering constraint, user group or application.
3. Build separate evidence
The student creates a new log, analysis, report, poster and presentation and can defend every decision independently.
| Academic anchor | Possible distinct extension | Required separation |
|---|---|---|
| IB Computer Science IA | Benchmark alternative algorithms on a new dataset and evaluation framework | New question, experiments, analysis and deliverable |
| IB Biology or Chemistry | A separate approved protocol or public-data modeling study | New data, method, conclusion and required approval |
| IB ESS / Geography | Model a local environmental issue using public geospatial or municipal data | New pipeline, users and impact evaluation |
| IB Math AA/AI | Compare models on expanded data and test uncertainty or generalization | Substantially new analysis and evidence |
Green / yellow / red prior-work boundary
Green · normally reusable
Subject knowledge, programming languages, statistical techniques, research skills, public literature and general topic interest.
Yellow · review required
Earlier code, raw data, prototypes, instruments, school laboratory procedures or teacher feedback. Confirm permission, disclose the source and make the new contribution distinguishable.
Red · do not present as new
Assessed reports, copied text or figures, identical conclusions, substantially identical code or experiments, and mentor-written work.
Reuse the learning—not the assessed submission. The student makes the decisions, creates the work and explains every part.
Read the full reuse policy. School, IB and KSEF rules take priority over this general guidance.
Read the detailed IB IA-to-KSEF independent-extension guide.
Research ethics and approvals come before data
- Confirm human-participant, survey, health, biological, chemical, animal, environmental and engineering safety requirements.
- Do not collect personal or sensitive data without the required approval and consent.
- Record data provenance, licenses, exclusions and transformations.
- Do not fabricate, alter or omit data to produce a desired result.
- Disclose AI tools, earlier work and mentor assistance under the applicable rules.
- Stop when approval, equipment or safe supervision is missing.
Student-authorship rule
CIT may teach concepts, recommend readings, question a plan, discuss debugging strategy, review clarity and rehearse presentation. CIT does not write the student’s report, create data, produce unexplained final code, conceal prior use or make every research decision for the student.
KSEF project readiness checklist
A project is not ready merely because the submission deadline is close.
Review the full readiness checklist
- □ Clearly defined, independently extended research question
- □ Understanding of relevant prior research
- □ Disclosed relationship to earlier schoolwork
- □ New contribution beyond course assessment
- □ Required ethics and safety approval
- □ Reproducible methods
- □ Student-owned data handling and code
- □ Appropriate baseline comparisons
- □ Valid analysis
- □ Limitations and possible sources of error
- □ Complete research log
- □ Concise student-authored report
- □ Readable poster
- □ Functioning demo where applicable
- □ Independent answers to technical questions
CIT mentoring stages
Academic calendar, prerequisites, earlier work and possible output
Assessed-work boundary, permissions and independent question
Student-owned implementation, evidence, iteration and validation
Report clarity, poster, demo, technical Q&A and submission QA
Frequently asked questions
What is KSEF?
KSEF is the Korea Science & Engineering Fair, a student science-project event organized by Korea Science Service (한국과학기술지원단). Eligibility, divisions, categories, documents, dates and international-selection procedures must be checked in the applicable annual official notice.
Which students and team sizes does KSEF accept?
The official English participation information reviewed on July 11, 2026 describes participation for Grades 5–12 and teams of one to three students. Applicants must verify that these rules remain current in the notice for their event year and division.
Can coursework inspire a KSEF project?
Yes, subject knowledge and skills may form the foundation of a separate extension. The student must not resubmit the same assessed report, code, figures, analysis or conclusions. The KSEF work needs a distinct question, new contribution and separate deliverable.
Does a KSEF award automatically qualify a student for Regeneron ISEF?
No automatic progression should be assumed. International-team selection, eligible events, quotas and preparation are governed by the applicable annual official notices. CIT does not guarantee selection, nomination or representation.
Is an ISEF Student Observer the same as an ISEF finalist?
No. They are different statuses. An ISEF finalist is selected to compete with an eligible project; a Student Observer attends through a separate educational participation category and does not compete as a finalist. One status must never be presented as the other.
Does KSEF automatically strengthen a Korean university application?
No. Whether a KSEF project or award can be submitted and how it is evaluated depend on the university, admissions year and route. The project can still develop subject depth, research skills, presentation ability and verifiable work evidence.
What must the student personally own?
The student must understand and make the research decisions, create the work within permitted support, maintain truthful data and logs, disclose earlier work and mentor help, and independently answer technical questions about every method and result.
Official sources and review status
KSEF official participation information
Official English participation pageUsed for general grade and team-size information · Verified 2026-07-11
KSEF official annual notices
Official notice boardRequired source for current divisions, categories, dates, documents, fees and selection. Archived references: 2026 domestic notice and 2026 international notice.
KSEF international science competitions
Official KSEF international-event pageThe eligible event list may vary annually; use the applicable notice
Regeneron ISEF
Society for Science official ISEF siteUse for ISEF rules and participation terminology
Published and reviewed by: CIT Intelligence Architect · Next review: at the next KSEF notice, before registration and after international-team selection announcements.
Start with the academic anchor and assessed-work boundary
A diagnostic identifies prerequisite skills, a distinct extension, academic blackout periods, verification and a realistic target outcome.
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