DIGI⁺ Taiwan

The quadrennial National Science and Technology Conference opens today at the Taipei International Convention Center, with this year’s agenda focusing on talent cultivation, strategic technology, innovation and healthcare.

The three-day conference, aimed at collecting opinions from industrial, academic and civic representatives to use in fashioning the nation’s tech policy toward 2030, would also be live-streamed, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) said on Saturday.

The previous conference in 2016 featured Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co founder Morris Chang (張忠謀), who said at the time that the event had mostly revolved around “abstract” discussions, with a smaller turnout of industrial representatives, and that most Taiwanese businesses had to find their own way when the nation’s tech policy lacked direction.

Chang was also invited to this year’s conference, the ministry said.

The Executive Yuan Office of Science and Technology has held 65 meetings over the past two years with civic representatives to encourage a bottom-up contribution to the nation’s tech policymaking, Minister of Science and Technology Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) said in a video promoting this year’s conference.

The ministry also launched a “Taiwan Plus” platform (https://taiwanplus.tw/) to collect more opinions, he said.

An agenda released by the ministry shows the four main topics of the conference are talent cultivation, scientific research and strategic technology, digital innovation and sustainability, and healthy living and smart life.

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) are scheduled to give opening remarks today, followed by a keynote speech by former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁).

Former Google Taiwan managing director Chien Lee-feng (簡立峰) and Chinese Business Incubation Association honorary chairman Huang Ching-yao (黃經堯) are to speak about cultivating talent today, while Microsoft Taiwan Artificial Intelligence R&D Center executive director Michael Chang (張仁炯) is scheduled to speak tomorrow about strategic distribution of technological resources.

Academia Sinica President James Liao (廖俊智) is to deliver a keynote speech on Wednesday, with Su making another appearance to wrap up the conference.

Date: 2020-12-21
Source: Taipei Times