【 NCKU and the University of Technology Sydney broaden research collaborations to AI applications in medical care, AIoT and environmental sensing, smart city design and disaster prevention, and cross-border start-up cultivation】

A delegation of the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia, led by Iain Watt, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (International) of UTS, visited National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) on September 20, 2023. NCKU and UTS built a collaboration by conducting a joint research plan called “Health System Resilience for Extreme Weather Emergencies” in the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN). Given the positive collaboration experience in the past, the two universities hope to further broaden their collaborations to AI applications in medical care, AIoT, and environmental sensing, smart city design and disaster prevention, and cross-border start-up cultivation, committing to transforming scientific knowledge and inventions into applications and supports for sustainable social development.

The UTS delegation led by Deputy Vice-Chancellor Watt includes Prof. Eryk Dutkiewicz (Associate Dean International, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology) and Prof. Chin-Teng Lin (Distinguished Professor of Computer Science). On the meeting, Assoc. Prof. Chia-Hsiang Lin (Director, Division of International Relations) and Prof. Pau-Choo Chung (Dean, College of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science) introduced the academic environment of NCKU and the brain-computer interface and electronic information-related sectors, respectively, to the visitors. Prof. Liang-Ming Whang (General Director, Innovation Headquarters) presented the current achievements and outlined the mechanism of industry-university collaboration at NCKU.

Meanwhile, Executive Vice President Woei-Jer Chuang of NCKU and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Iain Watt of UTS signed a Memorandum of Understanding and announced the two parties’ future collaboration in areas such as research in focus fields, student and faculty mobility, and credit-based academic programs. Executive Vice President Woei-Jer Chuang stated that by reaching a consensus on mutual interests in scientific research, the two universities have effectively identified four key cooperation themes. He believes both parties will continue to implement academic initiatives and establish a more meaningful and consolidated partnership. At the same time, academic resources will be exported to benefit the partner enterprises of the two universities, the economic development of the two regions, and the transnational training and cultivation of future talents. Deputy Vice-Chancellor Iain Watt noted in his remarks that, compared to NCKU's almost century-old history, UTS is relatively young, with its establishment in 1988. However, UTS distinguishes itself by active development in distinctive fields such as business, law, and technology. UTS has significant connections with local firms regarding technological application in sustainable goods and markets, with roughly 60% of research projects collaborating with enterprises. It has grown to be one of Australia’s most reputable institutions, ranked 90th in the QS World University Rankings. UTS houses more than 40,000 students, over 9,000 of them are international students. It has established a friendly campus environment to welcome students from different backgrounds and cultural groupings. After the meeting, the delegation visited the Innovation Headquarters and the Power IC Lab of the Department of Electrical Engineering.

NCKU and UTS are both active members of WUN, participating in various exchange programs. Currently, NCKU and UTS are collaborating on research on the resilience of public health systems in several nations to cope with extreme weather through the WUN network.