The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) is to establish a new division in Israel to draw on that nation’s technological innovations and business models, a ministry official said yesterday on condition of anonymity.
The ministry has 16 overseas technology divisions that work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan’s representative offices abroad.
Israeli research on artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing and biomedical technology are robust, and businesses in Israel are experienced at developing new business models to turn technological achievements into marketable products, the official said.
“Taiwan and Israel are very similar — both are densely populated and have limited resources,” the official said, adding that Taiwan can learn from Israel about using a minimum of resources to achieve the greatest technological innovations.
With the new division expected to be officially set up by June, MOST intends to send Taiwanese talent to work at Israeli enterprises through its “Learn, Explore, Aspire, Pioneer” program, which has sent people aged 40 and younger to Silicon Valley and France for internships of between six and 12 months, the official said.
In other news, the nation’s participation in last month’s trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada, was fruitful, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Hsu Yu-chin (許有進) said yesterday.
At the trade show, the ministry led 32 start-up teams in exhibiting AI and Internet of Things technologies, “smart” wearables, and applications in “smart” biotechnology, “smart” medicine, virtual reality and augmented reality.
The start-up teams received purchase orders totaling US$600,000, with potential collaboration and investment expected to total in the millions of dollars, he said.
Before the show, Robotelf Technologies Co was awarded the Robotics and Drones Innovation Award for its home security robot, while iXensor Inc won one of the Best of Baby Tech Awards with its Eveline Smart Fertility System during the show, he said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS