Over 50 participants from 15 institutions in Taiwan, Japan, Israel, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia gathered online to attend the Inaugural Conference of the Asia+ Alliance for Academia-Industry Partnership and Innovation (A+A) on July 12, 2021. Organized by the Center for Industry-Academia Cooperation of the Office of Research and Development at National Taiwan University (NTU), the Global Industry Platform of NTU System (T4GIP), and the IP Management Promotion & Administration Center at Taiwan (IMPACT), the conference aimed to bring participating universities together in an Alliance that could mark a paradigm shift for academia-industry collaboration in Asia, and usher in a new era of international cooperation.
In his welcoming remarks, Dr. Pai-Chi Li, Vice-President for Research and Development at National Taiwan University, noted the disparities highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of vaccine development and scientific research, and stated that more academia-industry collaboration would be needed on an international scale to develop and propagate scientific solutions to this and future challenges. Considering that Asia is currently home to over 60% of the global population, it is likely that such challenges would also have a greater impact in Asia, and therefore it makes sense to have a local alliance that can facilitate international academia-industry collaboration and speed the development of innovative solutions.
Presentations on current academia-industry collaboration ecosystems and structures were made by the Malaysian Friendship and Trade Centre in Taipei, the University of Haifa, Hiroshima University, the University of Tsukuba, Kyoto University, National University of Singapore, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, IMPACT, and National Taiwan University. This was followed by an open discussion in which comments and ideas were exchanged regarding the three main objectives of the Alliance, namely:
1. Pooling of licensable/transferable IP for international academia-industry collaboration;
2. Organizing workshops, internships, and training for international talent cultivation;
3. Leveraging third-party professional service providers to increase competitiveness.
In closing, the conference moderator and Director of the NTU Center for Industry-Academia Cooperation, Dr. Tang-Long Shen, expressed his wishes that the Alliance would facilitate intermural collaboration between participating universities, and help bring the fruits of scientific research more quickly to international markets. Efforts are now underway to establish a formal Alliance organization, build the infrastructure necessary to promote information-sharing and collaboration, and invite more participating universities across Asia.
