October 27, 2021
Minister Tsung-Tsong Wu of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and his delegation paid a visit to the Research, Development and Innovation Council (R&D&I Council) of Czech Republic on October 25th. The Council is a professional and consultancy body of the Czech government in the fields of research, experimental development and innovation. On behalf of RVVI, Dr. Ilona Müllerová, vice president and member of the Academy Council Presidium, hosted the meeting. Both sides discussed the possibilities for future collaborations in key scientific research fields for the first time.
Known as RVVI in Czech, the Council is directly affiliated to the Prime Minister's Office. The Council is responsible for drawing up strategic policies for science and technology fields and the allocation of its annual budget. In addition to the Prime Minister, the Council consists of 13 council members of distinguished scholars from academic communities including universities and the Czech Academy of Sciences.
RVVI’s mission is similar to the Board of Science and Technology of the Executive Yuan (referred to as BOST). The main function of BOST is to review and coordinate the development of national science and technology policies. The BOST is convened by the Premier, and Minister Wu of MOST serves as one of the deputy conveners.
Worth noting, it’s MOST’s first time visiting RVVI, the highest national R&D policy planning agency in the Czech Republic. Taiwan’s six core industries, covering areas of precision health, cybersecurity and quantum, etc. are in line with RVVI's promotion of the Czech innovation strategy (2019-2030) plan. Representatives of both countries expressed their willingness to enhance science and technology collaborations and both look forward to achieving a synergistic effect.
In the afternoon, Minister Wu visited the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TACR). Minister Wu introduced Taiwan’s 5+2 Industrial Innovation Programs and 6 core development plans in the meeting. Minister Wu laid emphasis on the importance of collaborations with CAS and TACR, also encouraged joint projects conducted by researchers and scientists in both countries.
MOST and CAS established first Agreement of Scientific Cooperation in 1993 and renewed the Agreement in 2016. Both parties initiated Project-based Personnel exchange Program (PPP) since 2008. CAS has a complex of 54 public research institutes and has over 8,000 employees. In addition to the establishment of the S&T Agreement with MOST, CAS has signed MOUs with Academia Sinica, National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs) and Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan respectively.
TACR, on the other hand, is an applied research institution for funding and supporting research, experimental development and innovation. In 2020, both TACR and MOSTrenewed their MOU to enhance the collaboration, in the form of bilateral co-funding projects, subsidizing 10 projects so far. MOST and TACR have identified main themes for their joint efforts of holding the 7th Taiwan-Czech Technology Day in Taiwan next year (2022), including cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, materials engineering and biotech (covering pandemic prevention research). It is expected that through the event, academic research, innovative research and development, and cross-disciplinary interactions between the Czechia and Taiwan can be facilitated. Furthermore the cooperation can pave the way to link up with high-tech industries in EU countries in the future.
Chairman Jong-Shinn Wu of the Taiwan Space Industry Development Association, also Director General of the National Space Organization of the National Applied Research Laboratories under the Ministry of Science and Technology, signed a memorandum of cooperation with representatives of the Czech Space Industry Alliance at the opening ceremony of the Taiwan-Czech Cooperation Conference on the morning of October 25th. This is once again that Taiwan and the Czech Republic have expressed their ambitions for mutual exchanges in the space field after the Czech Speaker’s visit to Taiwan last year, raising the topic of cooperation between the two countries in the space field.
The Czech Space Alliance was established in 2006 with the support of Czech Trade, an export promotion agency under the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade. It was also registered as a legal entity during the Czech Republic’s accession to the European Space Agency Convention in 2008. The Czech Space Alliance is an industry association with small and medium-sized enterprises as the main body. Its purpose is to provide services to Czech space companies participating in the alliance. In addition to improving the technical capabilities of its members, it is more important to promote their successful participation in competition international space bids, especially those of the European Space Agency. The space companies under the Czech Space Alliance have mature skills and performance in the space business, as well as a large international customer base.
There are two goals of the memorandum between the Taiwan Space Industry Development Association and the Czech Space Alliance. In addition to the hope that the two countries can have more cooperation in the space industry, the association also hopes to assist domestic players in entering the European market under this cooperation structure. Eventually participated in projects related to the European Space Agency.
Contact person (Media):
Ms. Jennifer Hu
Department of International Cooperation and Science Education
Tel: +886-2-27377560
Email: jenhu@nstc.gov.tw
