Since the Industry Liaison Office (ILO) of the National Taiwan University and the Industrial Liaison Program (ILP) of Massachusetts Institute of Technology signed a cooperative agreement in 2021, physical meetings and communicative exchanges have been delayed due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The first visit to MIT was finally realized In November 2022. The group consisted of Professor Pai-Chi Li, Vice President for the Office of Research and Development, and Director for the ILO, NTU, Professor Jiun-Haw Lee, Associate Vice President for International Affairs and Deputy Director for AUO-NTU Joint Research Center, Grace Chang, CEO for the NTU ILO and ILO Laureate Member, AUO Corporation. Both parties discussed the potential models of cross-university and transnational collaboration and a diverse blueprint for future cooperation.
Photo 1: NTU visiting Group with Associate Provost of MIT after their meeting (From left to right: Graham G Rong, Program Director of MIT ILP, Professor Jiun-Haw Lee, Associate Vice President for International Affairs and Deputy Director of AUO-NTU Joint Research Center, Richard Lester, Associate Provost of MIT, Professor Pai-Chi Li, VP of Office of Research and Development and Director of NTU ILO, Grace Chang, CEO of NTU ILO)
The primary focus of this trip was the 2022 MIT Research and Development Conference. During the two-day conference, MIT researchers and startups presented advanced technologies and solutions to some of the world’s crucial problems. The conference also included MIT partners in industry and government sharing global trends, national policies and development directions, as well as several tracks of sessions. Through participating in various activities such as workshops, laboratory tours, and faculty meetings, NTU visiting group discussed with MIT how to establish industrial links, and cooperation opportunities for forward-looking technologies and new ventures. The delegation also met with Richard Lester, Associate Provost of MIT to explore the possibilities of cross-university and industry partnerships, with the common goal of establishing a transnational ecosystem to enforce the relationships, and further expand the exchange programs of professors and students, co-creation of courses, international communications, etc.
Photo 2: NTU visiting group at 2022 MIT Research and Development Conference (From left to right: Professor Jiun-Haw Lee, Associate Vice President for International Affairs and Deputy Director of AUO-NTU Joint Research Center, Professor Pai-Chi Li, VP of Office of Research and Development and Director of NTU ILO, Graham G Rong, Program Director of MIT ILP, Grace Chang, CEO of NTU ILO, and Chao-Hsien Lin, Senior Engineer, Display R&D of a.u. Vista Inc.)
Another important task of this trip is to promote the ACED Fab Program signed by Taiwan National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) and USA National Science Foundation (NSF). Since the signing of the Taiwan-USA Science and Technology Agreement (STA) in December 2020, NSTC and NSF have selected semiconductors as the focused industry and signed an Implementation Agreement in August 2022. NTU visiting group met with the MIT research team and Todd S Glickman, Senior Director of Corporate Relations, and John C Roberts, Executive Director, MIT Corporate Relations of MIT ILP to discuss the ACED Fab program. It is hoped that with MIT’s relationship and influence on its internal research groups and the external industries, MIT will encourage more proposals for the program, adding new momentum to the semiconductor industry for both parties and creating breakthroughs together.
Photo 3: NTU’s visit to Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston (From left to right: Dr. Mong-Hsun Tsai, Director of the Science and Technology Division of NTSC office in Boston, Professor Jiun-Haw Lee, Associate Vice President for International Affairs and Deputy Director of AUO-NTU Joint Research Center, Professor Pai-Chi Li, VP of Office of Research and Development and Director of NTU ILO, Jonathan C. Y. Sun, Director-General of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston, and Grace Chang, CEO of NTU ILO)
In addition, the NTU visiting delegation also met with Jonathan C. Y. Sun, Director-General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston, and Dr. Mong-Hsun Tsai, Director of the Science and Technology Division of NTSC office in Boston. As the international exchanges have been resuming vigorously with the epidemic slowing down, the meeting hoped to bring the abundant resources of Taiwan's organizations in the United States to advance the cooperation in technological and student exchanges between Taiwan and the USA.
The visit to MIT has been fruitful. It not only established a smooth communication channel between the two top universities but also gained a better understanding of MIT’s thriving startup entrepreneurship culture. Moreover, it promoted the Taiwan-US cooperation program as well. With the successful conclusion of the visit, the affirmation of the intention of cooperation between NTU and MIT is of great significance. It is expected to make an important contribution to the promotion of future plans. Both parties will work closely together to lead this collaboration to fruition.