Speakers from NTU and MIT were invited to share results and insights of their research and initiatives.
With the shrinking of environmental resources, green technology has become an important science in recent years. ESG and sustainability are no longer just a slogan for companies to meet social responsibilities, but a subject that affects business strategies and organizational survival. The United Nations adopted 17 core Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, and National Taiwan University also uses these SDGs as a benchmark to build a future university. In response to this issue, the National Taiwan University Industrial Liaison Organization held an online and offline seminar on May 11th. The seminar looked into environmental sustainability and green technology from various angles. It also included a discussion session for speakers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to exchange questions and opinions with onsite participants on the implementation and effectiveness of sustainable campaigns.
Prof. Pai-Chi Li, VP of NTU R&D and Director of National Taiwan University Industry Liaison Office (NTUILO) said in his welcome speech: “In order to provide high-quality and advanced services, National Taiwan University Industry Liaison Office actively seeks opportunities for cooperation with leaders from all fields. This cooperation with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) started with an idea and after several discussion and communication, we were finally able to decide on the topics and speakers. We also overcame the time differences and invited MIT professors to have a discussion with our onsite guests. It is a very rare opportunity considering how the epidemic has stopped so many international communications.” Grace Chang, CEO of the NTUILO also said: "Sustainability has been getting more and more attention, and National Taiwan University of course will not be silent. As an academic and research organization, we have invited experts from different fields, including finance management, material technology, and forestry to share their research findings with our guests, hoping to expand the cooperative relationship with the industry and do our part in promoting sustainable development."
The seminar started with 3 online sessions from MIT speakers. Professor John Fernández first shared how MIT leverages key capacity of the entire faculty, student and staff across diverse topics in research and engagement to create solutions to climate change and other environmental challenges. Professor Yossi Sheffi proposed a different point of view regarding green technology and argued that while current green efforts should continue, the solution is technology for carbon sequestrations and storage. Lastly, Professor Elsa Olivetti discussed tools and analytical modeling efforts that explore the potential for recycling of materials such as paper, copper and aluminum which helps to assess the contexts under which recycling may reduce a material or product footprint.
The second half of the seminar took place in NTUH International Convention Center with 3 talks from NTU professors. Professor Pai-Ta Shih from Finance Department discussed green economy with balanced environment and development from supply chains’ perspective. Next Professor Chia-Wen Wu from Chemical Engineering Department presented the results of his study on the application of different types of ordered nanoporous materials in sustainable environment. Lastly Professor Chia-Pin Yu from School of Forestry & Resource Conservation talked about how being in a green environment could bring actual benefits on people’s body and spirit from a scientific point of view.
The last part of the seminar was hosted by Professor Shiuh-Shen Chien from Department of Geography. Professor John Fernández and Professor Yossi Sheffi from MIT joined onsite guests and discussed topics such as how to promote sustainable products to consumers, experiences of successful and failing initiatives, etc. The enthusiastic exchange and interaction between MIT’s professors and Taiwan’s onsite guests brought the seminar to a successful conclusion, which was an important milestone for NTUILO’s dedication of extending the collaboration between industry and university to an international level.
