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Overseeing the core academic research operations at NTU, the Office of Research and Development (ORD) is dedicated to constructing a robust campus research environment, sponsoring cutting-edge research, and providing crucial administrative support. Over the past two years, following the blueprint of Future NTU Initiatives, ORD has focused on four main strategies: deepening international cooperation, attracting and retaining key talents, encouraging interdisciplinary innovation, and promoting technology transfer and application. These strategies are aimed at maximizing the social impact of NTU’s academic achievements by drawing on existing resources and outcomes in collaboration with industry, government, and academia.

Under the Ministry of Education’s Higher Education Sprout Project, NTU has identified five key research areas: Smart Technology, Sustainable Science, Innovative Materials, Digital Humanities, and Molecular Biomedicine. Accordingly, the university has established 10 field research centers to develop and implement forward-looking five-year core research programs-- thus realizing a new model of interdisciplinary research that aligns with leading domestic industries and global sustainable development goals.

Recent ORD initiatives include deepening the quarterly interdisciplinary research exchange meetings and introducing the “Interdisciplinary Seed Project” and the “Add-on International Cooperation Project.” Under the carefully selected interdisciplinary research themes from these exchange meetings, ORD encourages departments and graduate institutes to form interdisciplinary research teams to propose and implement innovative research topics. Additionally, the add-on project supports the formation of potential research teams in expanding international research collaborations.

Concerning international cooperation, NTU is the convener of the University Academic Alliance in Taiwan (UAAT), a coalition of 12 domestic universities. NTU brings these universities together to engage in international cooperations with the University of Illinois System, the University of Texas System, the Czech University Alliance, and the Kyushu-Okinawa University Alliance in Japan. Recently, ORD has also supported other NTU units in establishing two trilateral research centers, one with Taiwan, Japan, and the USA and the other one with Taiwan, Japan, and France. Vice President Wu added that the resilience demonstrated by Taiwan’s high-tech industries during the pandemic opened up excellent opportunities for international academic exchanges, spurring the exchange of global talents, and drawing outstanding researchers to Taiwan.

To attract and retain talent, NTU has introduced such initiatives as “Incentives for Newly Hired Exceptional Talents,” “Funding for Advanced Instruments for Promising Scholars,” and various newly established professorships. These initiatives concentrate resources on recruiting and retaining exceptional teaching and research talents, to enhance NTU’s competitiveness in the international academic talent market.

Another main task of the ORD is to transform academic achievements into practical applications, benefiting industry and socio-economic development. This effort includes protecting, managing, and promoting intellectual property rights and patents. By implementing strong patent protection strategies, increasing the rate of technology transfer, and fostering an innovation and entrepreneurship culture, NTU aims to create a positive academic economic cycle.

Vice President Wu points out that while Taiwan has a particularly active and close industry-academia collaboration, which stands out internationally, there is still room for improvement in the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. The rise of AI may provide the necessary impetus to propel Taiwan’s economic and technological development to the next level. In the past five years, approximately 36 start-up companies emerged from NTU, with the number increasing annually. The NTU Innovation and Incubation Center under ORD has hosted 240 start-up companies over the years, with nearly 10 of them going IPO already. Moving forward, with the support of initiatives like the “Seedling Project,” “SPARK Project,” and “NTU Garage and Accelerator,” NTU will steadfastly strive to provide a supportive entrepreneurial environment, resources for start-ups, and an expanding operation scale.