Oct. 3, 2026

Taiwan-UK science and technology cooperation has achieved a historic breakthrough! On October 2 (Taiwan Time) in London, Representative Vincent Chin-Hsiang Yao of the Taipei Representative Office in the UK and Representative Ruth Bradley-Jones of the British Office Taipei officially signed the Taiwan-UK Sci-ence, Innovation and Technology Arrangement (SITA) to support collaboration be-tween the UK’s Department of Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) and Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). The signing ceremony was witnessed by NSTC Deputy Minister Bing-Yu Chen and UK National Technolo-gy Adviser Dr Dave Smith, which marks a new milestone in the UK-Taiwan tech-nology partnership. 

During his remarks, NSTC Deputy Minister Bing-Yu Chen said that the sign-ing of this arrangement was an important step in institutionalizing Taiwan-UK co-operation, which will in turn help leverage the complementary scientific and tech-nological strengths of both sides through concrete projects. In addition, Deputy Minister Chen stated that under the SITA framework, Taiwan and the UK will con-tinue to strengthen cooperation to enhance their global competitiveness and sup-ply chain resilience in key technology sectors.

The signing of this arrangement followed high-level talks between NSTC Min-ister Cheng-Wen Wu and UK Minister for Space, Cyber and Regulatory Reform Baroness Lloyd of Effra in London earlier this year. During their meeting, Minister Wu and Baroness Lloyd stressed the importance of advancing cooperation in sci-entific research by transforming their shared vision into concrete action. 

Immediately following the SITA signing ceremony, Deputy Minister Chen and Dr Dave Smith co-chaired the Taiwan-UK SITA Roundtable Discussion. During the meeting, both sides held in-depth talks on the first wave of cooperation projects and semiconductor talent cultivation initiatives under the SITA framework. Through these discussions, both sides agreed to pursue the following initiatives:

Satellite Communications Cooperation (UKSA-TASA Collaboration) 
The UK Space Agency (UKSA) proposed initiating joint R&D in advanced satel-lite communications technology with Taiwan Space Agency (TASA). Both sides agreed that this initiative will serve as a flagship outcome of the SITA.

Taiwan-UK Silicon Photonics Academic Alliance 
In response to the needs of next-generation semiconductor development, the UK side has secured seed funding to support a Taiwan-UK Silicon Photonics Aca-demic Alliance. With the support of the Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute (TSRI) under the National Applied Research Laboratories (NIAR), the initiative will establish a long-term academic platform for silicon photonics. This platform will bring together leading academic clusters from both sides, promote talent ex-changes, and facilitate industry-academia cooperation. In turn, these efforts will establish a solid foundation for future talent exchanges, workshops, and joint re-search calls.

Semiconductor Skills Joint Project 
Both sides commended the achievements of the first cohort of UK master's students to undertake internships in Taiwan, which was made possible by a Mem-orandum of Understanding (MOU) on semiconductor talent cultivation signed by the former UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The NSTC and TSRI will continue to support this initiative, with TSRI taking the lead in facilitating visit programs in Tai-wan for UK high-level research talent. Both sides agreed that a sustained commit-ment to this initiative will ensure a steady supply of talent for the semiconductor ecosystems of both sides.

In closing, the NSTC emphasized that the implementation of this arrangement marks a major leap in Taiwan-UK cooperation. Looking ahead, both sides will con-tinue to advance R&D in key technologies, build sustainable talent pipelines, and strengthen UK-Taiwan research communities, officially opening a new win-win chapter in technology cooperation.

Media Contact：
Dr. Hui-Chuan Cheng
Program Director
Department of International Cooperation and Science Education
National Science and Technology Council
Tel: +886 (2)27377472