SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
An unmanned aerial vehicle developed by National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology in northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City (Huang Chung-hsin)
DO YOU KNOW?
- Taiwan is one of the world’s leading producers of information and communication technology products.
- World Economic Forum ranks Taiwan 14th out of 138 economies in its most recent Global Competitiveness Report in September 2016.
In April 2014, the National Science Council—the government’s dedicated agency charged with advancing national science and technology development,
supporting academic research and promoting the nation’s three science parks—was reorganized and renamed as the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST).
While continuing its predecessor’s innovative measures and programs, the MOST, with a new organizational structure, aims to focus academic research on the needs of industry as Taiwan relies on science and technology innovations as a key driver of economic growth and national progress.
The success of Taiwan’s high-tech enterprises is largely attributable to the government’s generous funding for applied scientific development.
With government support, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), the National Applied Research Laboratories and the Institute
for Information Industry (III) all played important roles in jumpstarting the nation’s rise as a technological powerhouse by conducting research, aiding the private sector with R&D and exploring new technologies.
The ITRI has been instrumental in establishing several companies that have gone on to command prominent positions in the global marketplace, including Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and United Microelectronics Corp., which are among the world’s top custom integrated circuit chipmakers. The institute’s
innovative prowess is best illustrated by the fact that in the past nine years it has won a total of 27 R&D 100 Awards, highly prestigious honors given out by US-based R&D
Magazine. Most of these award-winning technologies have been licensed to ITRI’s partners, including Taiwan Cement Corp. and WiseChip Semiconductor Inc.
The III strives to boost Taiwan’s global competitiveness by developing the country’s information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, and plays a key role in
promoting ICT in both the public and private sectors. To that end, the III serves as a think tank on ICT policy, conducts extensive research and has trained over 460,000
ICT-related professionals during the past three decades.
The III is also dedicated to promoting Taiwan tech startups by organizing a contest for them called IDEAS Show since 2008. This has led to five international mergers and winning contestants attracting investment of NT$8.2 billion (US$270 million). In 2016, the IDEAS Show started to build stronger connections with the world as it became an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) event attracting participants from 15 nations. This year, the IDEAS Show @APEC Innovation is taking place July 17-18 in Taipei with a focus on creating a better entrepreneurial ecosystem for the digital economy in the future.
After years of dedication by the public and private sectors toward developing technological expertise, Taiwan’s science parks are now home to clusters of companies
pursuing breakthroughs in fields such as integrated circuits, nanotechnology, optoelectronics and precision machinery. According to the Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017 released by World Economic Forum, Taiwan ranked 30th among the 138 economies surveyed in the technological readiness category and 11th in the innovation category.
Furthermore, among 61 top economies surveyed in the 2016 World Competitiveness Yearbook, in terms of technological 12th and 10th, respectively.
