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.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
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STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
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