Taiwan and Sweden have launched their first joint research initiative with a budget of nearly NT$250 million (US$8.43 million) to be spent over five years on six teams working on information and communications technologies, bioengineering and materials research, the Ministry of Science and Technology said yesterday.
The initiative was established after the ministry and the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research in August last year signed a memorandum of understanding, the ministry said in a news release.
The foundation, an independent funding agency for research projects at universities and technical institutes, said on its Web site that it prioritizes projects related to information, communications and systems technologies, life sciences and materials research.
Former minister of science and technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) last year led a delegation to the foundation and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and met with Swedish Minister for Higher Education and Research Matilda Ernkrans to discuss the project, the ministry said.
After signing the memorandum, they then called for research projects, receiving 49 applications and approving six teams, the ministry said.
It said the teams would research new technologies, such as solid-state anode-less lithium batteries; antenna technologies for beyond-5G wireless communication; highly scalable CMOS-integrated nanopore biomolecular sensors; a chip-size accelerator for material research and health; advanced gallium nitride devices for millimeter and sub-millimeter-wave communications; and two-dimensional quantum optoelectronics devices.
Recognizing Taiwan’s strengths in these areas, the foundation is to provide the bulk of the funding with 60 million kronor (US$6.43 million) over the next five years, while up to 25 percent of the grants would be transferred to Taiwanese participants, the ministry said.
The Swedish funding is significant, as the budgets for other research collaborations between Taiwan and another nation have been shared 50-50, it said.
The ministry is to allocate NT$50 million to Taiwanese researchers involved in the projects, it added.
The research groups include 23 Swedish scientists from several Swedish institutions, including Uppsala University, Chalmers University of Technology, KTH-Royal Institute of Technology and Linkoping University, the ministry said.
They also include 14 Taiwanese researchers from National Taiwan University, National Tsing Hua University, National Chiao Tung University, National Cheng Kung University, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology and National Central University, it said.
It is the first time that the two nations have launched such a joint research platform, as previous collaborations were usually conducted on a case-by-case basis, the Department of International Cooperation and Science Education said.
The ministry said it expects the joint framework to become a strategic foothold for Taiwan to increase technological partnerships with other North European countries.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
RSS