The number of start-ups spun off from government-funded research projects and revenue derived from technology transfers have skyrocketed since the government relaxed regulations governing academic-industrial collaboration in 2017, Minister of Science and Technology (MOST) Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) said yesterday.
Since taking office in February 2017, Chen has worked to boost the connections between universities and industries, although some researchers have continued to complain about diminished funding for basic research projects amid the Ministry of Science and Technology’s inclination toward developing artificial intelligence and other applicable technologies.
From 2017 to last year, eight start-ups have been established by researchers funded by the ministry and last year raised funding totaling NT$900 million (US$28.6 million), up from NT$250 million in 2017, Chen told a news conference at the ministry in Taipei.
The ministry’s revenue derived from researchers’ technology stock income also soared from NT$125,000 to NT$200 million last year, he said.
There is a lot of uncertainty and effort involved before a new technology becomes commercially viable, as the process involves conceptualization, research and development, segmentation of features, empirical demonstration of techniques and market competition, Chen said.
Nonetheless, the performances of start-ups over the past two years show that refined legal frameworks help accelerate the process and boost the value of innovative techniques, he added.
After an overhaul of science-related regulations, university researchers who supply key techniques to start-ups are allowed to serve as part-time board members at the firms after obtaining approval from their universities, and the maximum limit of 40 percent on their technology stock holdings was canceled, the ministry said.
Researchers used to refrain from holding technology stocks due to the tax involved, but researchers and the ministry have received more revenue from stocks after related rules were loosened, Department of Academia-Industry Collaboration and Science Park Affairs Director Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) said.
The ministry said that it has also reduced the proportion of technology transfer payments that schools are required to pay.
However, while the amendments have loosened restrictions on academic-industrial exchanges, the ministry said that it also requires that researchers who receive its funding observe the Act on Recusal of Public Servants Due to Conflicts of Interest (公職人員利益衝突迴避法).
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