Image Credit to NCKU News Center, NCKU Innovation Headquarters
Edited by Rainee Cheng
 

On September 15, the Academia-Industry Consortium for Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) held its 13th Member Assembly and Board of Directors and Supervisors Election at the National Science and Technology Council’s Cybersecurity and Smart Technology R&D Building in Shalun, Tainan. National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) President Meng-Ru Shen was re-elected Chairman by a wide margin, and Vice President Yung-Chun Lee was elected Chief Supervisor. In the afternoon, a themed forum on silicon photonics and advanced packaging followed at the same venue, featuring a keynote speech by National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Cheng-Wen Wu titled “The Greater South’s Future: Taiwan’s New Science and Technology Policy Framework.” Wu shared insights on industrial development and technology policy planning for the Greater South region. The event drew nearly 200 participants from southern Taiwan’s related industry-chain companies, corporate and institutional bodies, and university representatives. 
 

NCKU President Meng-Ru Shen (right) was re-elected Chairman, receiving the official seal of office for the 13th term from Hsiu-jung Cheng, Director-General of the Southern Taiwan Science Park Bureau.
 

The Academia-Industry Consortium for STSP has long been dedicated to fostering academia-industry collaboration in southern Taiwan. Through its Greater South Academia-Industry-Training Collaboration Platform, the Consortium connects the energy of industry, government, academia, and research institutions, deepening regional industry linkages and exchange. The member assembly opened in the morning, with Consortium Chairman and NCKU President Meng-Ru Shen delivering the opening remarks. President Shen noted that last year’s assembly was held at NCKU, and this year’s venue was deliberately moved to Shalun in recognition of Shalun’s growing importance in southern Taiwan’s technology development. Stretching from Chiayi and Tainan down to Kaohsiung and Pingtung, a southern technology corridor is gradually taking shape. Shalun, with its transportation advantages and strategic location, has seen rapid infrastructure development in recent years, positioning it to become a key hub for technology development in the south.
 

Speaking about the Consortium’s recent achievements, President Shen noted that NCKU has long supported the Consortium’s operations. More importantly, NCKU has positioned the Consortium as a collaborative platform for joint innovation among industry, government, academia, and research institutions in southern Taiwan. Over the past two years, the Consortium has provided continuing education and co-learning opportunities for both members and non-members, while also actively matching industry partners with relevant government programs to strengthen academia-industry linkages. In addition, the Consortium uses its annual member assembly each year to track key technology trends, with last year focusing on AI, and this year focusing on silicon photonics and advanced packaging. The Consortium continues to connect stakeholders across industry, academia, and research.
 

Group photo of the 12th term Board of Directors and Supervisors of the Academia-Industry Consortium for Southern Taiwan Science Park. 
 

Chein Tai, former Deputy Minister of the NSTC and the first Director-General of the STSP Bureau who has witnessed the development of both the Science Park and the Consortium firsthand, attended the member assembly again this year, as he has in years past. As the current Standing Director of the Consortium, Tai noted that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the Science Park’s founding, and that its achievements today are the result of long-term joint efforts by industry, government, academia, and research institutions, particularly NCKU, since the Consortium has been supported by NCKU from the very beginning. Tai gave special thanks to the successive presidents of NCKU for continuing to shoulder responsibility for the Consortium, noting the university’s steady support throughout the Park’s development. As southern Taiwan’s technology industry footprint continues to expand, the Science Park is no longer just Tainan’s science park, but is gradually becoming a key core of technology industry development for the entire Greater South region.
 

Looking ahead, Tai hopes the Consortium can build on its existing foundation for exchange and further strengthen its role in linking industry and academia, becoming a vital bridge connecting corporate needs, university research, technology validation, talent cultivation, and industrial implementation, so that “companies with problems, universities with technology, and the Consortium providing the match” can together turn results into commercialized products.
 

The Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) has seen continuous growth in industrial scale and output value since its founding. Its annual revenue has now surpassed that of the Hsinchu Science Park, making it the largest of Taiwan’s three major science parks, with output value expected to exceed NT$4 trillion this year. Hsiu-jung Cheng, Director-General of the STSP Bureau, noted that today’s achievements are the cumulative result of long-term joint efforts by industry, government, academia, and research institutions. The Park’s development experience has also drawn international attention. South Korea is reportedly planning to build an industrial park of approximately 900 hectares near Gwangju Airport, and several South Korean media outlets have visited STSP to learn from its development experience.
 

Director-General Cheng noted that hardware can be learned, but the industrial ecosystem jointly formed by industry, government, academia, and research is not something others can easily replicate. She explained that localizing semiconductor equipment and materials in particular requires investment from companies, R&D capacity from academic and research institutions, and a process of validation and mass production before a complete supply chain can gradually take shape, with the Consortium playing a key role in connecting industry with academia and research.
 

Director-General Cheng also noted that as southern Taiwan’s technology industry continues to develop rapidly, the demand for talent has become increasingly urgent. In recent years, the Consortium has expanded its recruitment efforts to universities in northern and central Taiwan, while also broadening its talent pool to include non-STEM students, women in scientific research, and overseas and international students. Amid declining birth rates and intense competition for industry talent, expanding the talent supply and encouraging talent to move southward will be an important challenge for the continued development of southern Taiwan’s industries.
 

In the afternoon, the “2026 Greater South Silicon Photonics and Advanced Packaging Forum” was held, featuring a keynote speech by NSTC Minister Cheng-Wen Wu titled “The Greater South’s Future: Taiwan’s New Science and Technology Policy Framework.” Minister Wu noted that the rapid development of AI is driving demand for high-speed data transmission, computing power, and energy efficiency, making silicon photonics and advanced packaging key pillars of the next phase of technology industry development. He said Taiwan already holds an advantage in semiconductor manufacturing and silicon photonics wafer platforms, and that the next critical step is to move beyond the industry’s past pattern of working in isolation, extending silicon photonics and co-packaged optics (CPO) technologies through to boards, racks, networking equipment, and data center communications, so as to build a complete and integrated industrial chain and ecosystem. 
 

NSTC Minister Cheng-Wen Wu delivering a keynote speech titled “The Greater South's Future: Taiwan’s New Science and Technology Policy Framework.”
 

Minister Wu remarked that the world’s innovations, in the end, all need Taiwan’s approval before they can be realized. He noted that Taiwan is home to many hidden champions with key technologies that have long played an important role in the global supply chain, and that connecting these dispersed strengths together, moving from individual components toward full system integration, would allow Taiwan to better leverage the advantages of its complete industrial chain.
 

The forum then turned its focus to forward-looking technology applications. The session was moderated by Wei-Chou Hsu, Dean of NCKU’s Academy of Innovative Semiconductor and Sustainable Manufacturing (AISSM), and featured Clark Chen, Deputy Director, University Programs, Corporate Research, TSMC; Vincent Lin, Director of ASE Inc. Technology Development; and Wei-Chung Lo, Deputy Director of ITRI’s Electronic and Optoelectronic System Research Laboratories. Together, they shared insights on the development and application of forward-looking industry technologies. The panel discussion that followed was moderated by Yan-Kuin Su, Honorary Dean of NCKU’s AISSM, bringing together representatives from Hon Hai Research Institute (HHRI), the Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute (TSRI), LandMark Optoelectronics Corporation, and academia to explore forward-looking technologies, industry positioning, talent development, and academia-industry collaboration from multiple perspectives spanning industry, academia, and research.