The first ever Taiwanese-Russian joint technology transfer workshop was held on Wednesday in Taipei to introduce advanced Russian technology to Taiwanese academics and businesses searching for cooperative opportunities.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chern Jenn-chuan (陳振川), head of the Taiwan Chapter of the Russian International Academy of Engineering (IAE) and lead organizer of the event, said the half-day workshop was aimed at facilitating Taiwanese-Russian cooperation in science.
A Russian scientific delegation led by IAE president Boris Vladimirovich Gusev, who helped to found the group’s Taiwanese chapter in 2009, took part in the workshop.
A renowned scientist, Gusev is also president of the Russian Academy of Engineering.
“It was 10 years ago when president Gusev first brought two of his deputies to Taiwan and first initiated a decade of exchanges,” Chern said.
Through those exchanges, Taiwan has been better able to learn about Russian expertise in technology and other scientific fields, while the Russian side has gained a first hand understanding of Taiwan’s strength in systems integration and production, Chern said.
The Taiwanese chapter previously sent a delegation on a four-day visit to an IAE forum in Russia, Chern said.
The workshop was to share information on potential business opportunities for Taiwanese academics and companies following the forum in Russia, he said.
“A number of Taiwanese professors and business leaders were invited to the workshop so that they would establish contacts with the IAE,” he said. “This rare opportunity is to inform the Taiwanese side that they can contact our chapter if they are interested in Russian technology and potential business opportunities.”
In his address, Gusev said he first visited Taiwan in 2007.
“The chapter had a somewhat slow start, but caught up quickly,” Gusev said.
Now the chapter is helping Russia conduct comprehensive exchanges with Taiwan, with a focus on renewable energy, sustainable development, engineering materials and environmental protection, among other sectors, he said.
Currently there are 10 major cooperative projects, Gusev added.
The workshop would continue the work started at the forum in Russia and lay a foundation for future cooperation, he said.
Chern is also chief executive of the Tang Prize Foundation, which is responsible for the planning of events associated with the Tang Prize, a set of biennial international awards in four fields — sustainable development, biopharmaceutical science, Sinology and the rule of law.
The nomination and selections are conducted by an independent selection committee, which is formed in cooperation with Academia Sinica.
Gusev is also a member of the Tang Prize international advisory board.
