Developing a Prosperous Future for a Greater Improvement: National Taiwan University Held the Opening Ceremony for NTU-iCeiRA (NTU International Center of Excellence on Intelligent Robotics and Automation Research)

National Taiwan University Held the Opening Ceremony for NTU-iCeiRA (NTU International Center of Excellence on Intelligent Robotics and Automation Research) in the center of NTU Department of Physics on May 4th. To be noted, the host for the opening ceremony was a robot, simulated Einstein at the age of 27. The host robot also instructed another robot, RenQ, to receive the invited guests at the ceremony. It presented the great value of MIT robot’s application and intelligence.

While giving the speech for the opening ceremony, NTU President, Si-Chen Lee, mentioned the Aim for the Top University Project, which has been promoting by the Ministry of Education ever since 2006. The original aim of this project was to establish as many international research centers as they could and to promote one university in Taiwan to be ranked among the world- top 100 universities at least, and National Taiwan University successfully made it in 2009. The second Aim for the Top University Project has began since 2011 along with the promotion and the full support by Ministry of Education in Taiwan. National Taiwan University has already made a resolution of making it the world-top 50 university ranked by the Times Higher Education Institute. President Lee recognized that we couldn’t avoid that the whole world has been moving on all the time, and it’s evitable that we have to go beyond this by strategies as the followings: First, National Taiwan University will have to top-down the conventional research corporation that we used to have as professors to professors. It was not adequate for academic and research values, and we’ll make the corporation to the scale of institutes to institutes around the whole world, aiming for the top research centers, academic institutes or corporations in industries to develop advanced technology in order to make us moving beyond the rapid changes in the world. Additionally, National Taiwan University has to focus on how to solve and to improve social issues instead of presenting academic papers so that we can develop the corporation with the industries outside the campus. There have been many great ideas with creativity lied in the academia without being carried out. Many of the published papers and applied patents were isolated from being practiced in the industries. National Taiwan University established the center of creativity in hopes that we can connect the scholars’ knowledge to the corporations among all kinds of industries. This strategy is also the focus of the second Aim for the Top University Project in order to carry out all the great ideas with creativity and to invite the connections from the corporations.

During the speech at the opening ceremony, NTU President Si-Chen Lee also gave thanks to National Science Council by appreciating the opportunity of joining the IRICE Project, making it possible to promote the reputation of National Taiwan University through the strategy of the corporations by institutes to institutes. Over the past two years, National Taiwan University has already established two IRICE centers in association with the institutes in the United States. To be specific, NTU-iCeiRA (NTU International Center of Excellence on Intelligent Robotics and Automation Research) serves as the crucial part by connecting the corporation among three institutes in France: the national research center in France, the national laboratory in France, and UPMC (Université Paris VI). National Taiwan University established NTU-iCeiRA aiming to corporate with EU (European Union) and the three institutes mentioned above, and to have a strong and stable connection to the industries. NTU President Si-Chen Lee expects that there will be more and more great creativity bringing up practices among industries through the center of creativity in National Taiwan University. As well, we National Taiwan University believes that the establishment of the center can make it possible that in a year NTU will be ranked as the top 50 university in the world. Therefore, NTU President Si-Chen Lee appreciates the establishment of NTU-iCeiRA and anticipates developing a prosperous future for the greater improvement from National Taiwan University to change the world.

Vice President, Vincent Siew, as the guest while making the speech to the opening ceremony, recognized that the establishment of NTU-iCeiRA is definitely something important for National Taiwan University as well as the big revelation for the cross-boundary corporations in Taiwan. Also, he pointed out that we have to improve the conventional technology and techniques in order to promote and to transform the traditional industries in Taiwan; hence, the robotic automation is thus served as the crucial and the required technique to make the existing industries work out in Taiwan. Moreover, Vice President suggested a fact that “our government hopes to connect and to corporate with the industries in Japan. I’m extremely interested in the development of robots because my experience of joining the Universal Exposition (also known as the World’s Fair) in Japan impressed me a lot, especially the robots’ presentation for the opening ceremony there. Those robots were indeed the masterpieces created by the corporation of the industries, research centers, and the academia in Japan. After the visit to the Universal Exposition, I was invited to Nagoya University to visit a cross-boundary center, where many international scholars and students working on their research there. At that time, the professor in the cross-boundary center told me that Professor Lo from Taiwan had been working on the related research field too. I gave Professor Lo a phone call right after I returned to Taiwan for further information. Ever since that experience of visiting the center in Japan, I’ve been thinking about having one in National Taiwan University, and I’m so proud of it today. Hereby, I came to the opening ceremony to say congratulations to recognize that National Taiwan University will definitely move beyond the changes in the world to be ranked the world top university in the near future. As well, I do believe that the corporations of all industries in Taiwan will be promoted and prosperous, which matters a lot to the society here. The teamwork and the corporation with the research centers in France made this center a pioneer to the association to European Union.”

NTU-iCeiRA (NTU International Center of Excellence on Intelligent Robotics and Automation Research) is established and promoted by the full support of NSC I-RiCE (International Research-intensive Center of Excellence) from National Science Council. This project accomplished and presented the great teamwork among National Taiwan University, CNRS: French National Center for Scientific Research, INRIA: The French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control, and UPMC (Université Paris VI or Université Pierre et Marie Curie). Each of them is known as the top academic institute or the top university in the world.

This research project is recognized by having the letter of commitment signed under each of the representatives from National Taiwan University, CNRS: French National Center for Scientific Research, INRIA: The French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control, and UPMC (Université Paris VI or Université Pierre et Marie Curie), promising to provide the financial aid equally to support this five-year research project according the regulations from the National Science Council. Guests were invited to join the opening ceremony for the establishment of NTU-iCeiRA: Vice President Vincent Siew, NTU President Si-Chen Lee, the vice chairperson of National Science Council Hocheng Hong, Minister without Portfolio Shan Cheng Chang, Minister of State Tsung-Ming Lin, the founder of Acer Incorporation Stan Shih. Also, the international conference of showing the development of intelligent robots and the automatism in industries was also held along with the opening ceremony to present the integration of innovative service and advanced systems. There will be three speeches and three workshops with this topic to be held.

The international conference was held in hopes that Taiwan can learn something from the intelligent robots in France for a better development and perspective doing the research here. As well as sharing the successful experiences, the topics of making the strategies for developing the intelligent robots along with the automatism in the industries in Taiwan and promoting robots the great opportunity for developing the fifth industry (iPhone, Tablet, PC, iTV, Intelligent Robot) was also brought up for the further discussion during the conference hours. In addition to that, more topics were discussed with great ideas under the theme of developing intelligent robots: the innovative service and the integration of systems, the establishment of an innovative research platform, the union of strategies, including DoIT (Department of Industrial Technology) and Industrial Development Bureau of Ministry of Ministry of Economic Affairs, R.O.C., Industrial Technology Research Institute, and corporations among industries in Taiwan.

Professor Ren-Chuang Luo, the executive of this international research center and also the head host of this NTU-iCeiRA project, stated that both the industries of intelligent robotics and automation are highly-integrating ICT industries in comparison to many other traditional industries with lower revenue, struggling over the past years. Generally speaking, the industries of intelligent robotics and automation feature their high relation and wide connection to other industries for application and practice. Also, they can be a great substitute for the 3D qualities in corporations: dull, danger, dirty. Intelligent robots can assist and promote the upgrade of the manufacturing industry so that the value of the manufacture will definitely increase with the practice of intelligent robots and automation. This will be developed to be the major and crucial foundation for all kinds of on-going industries with the stimulation and the promotion in the near future.

From the very beginning, the international center of NTU-iCeiRA will make a good use of the great resources in the National Taiwan University, making this center the core platform to connect the development of upgrading the industries of intelligent robotics and automation in order to cultivate and to enroll more researchers of this area. Also, NTU-iCeiRA is obligated to promote the international perspective so that Taiwan can have a strong connection to the whole world. Meanwhile, National Taiwan University is working on the integration of the development of higher education to meet the needs of the corporations from all kinds of industries in hopes that we can provide a well-functioned platform to improve the international teamwork and cross-boundary corporation through NTU-iCeiRA. Moreover, we expect that NTU-iCeiRA can provide a platform of the high-advanced technology with the innovative techniques to successfully develop a commercial pattern for the industries in Taiwan.

To be specifically noted, the center of NTU-iCeiRA will sign up the corporation under MOU with 25 top corporations in Taiwan with the expectation that we can really make use of the resources from NTU-iCeiRA in order to promote the research results of intelligent robots and the industries of automation for a better international perspective and competition. Tracing back to the year of recession ever since 2008, many countries have been focusing on the manufacturing industry again with the aggressive actions. As for the environment in Taiwan, the history of developing manufacturing industry provides us a very firm foundation with the complete SCM (supply chain management), making manufacturing industry the millions of revenue in Taiwan; the semi conductor is included in this field. Consequently, the electronic industry is thought to be the next millions of revenue in Taiwan. Hence, the idea of promoting intelligent robotics and automation is following the global mainstream with the correct international perspective, providing a great opportunity for the next generation in Taiwan.

An introduction to the French institutes associated with the NTU-iCeiRA:

CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research) is the largest governmental organization in France and the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. It employs 26,000 permanent employees (researchers, engineers, and administrative staff) and 6,000 temporary workers.

INRIA (The French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control) is a French national research institution focusing on computer science, control theory and applied mathematics, playing an important role for the scientific research in the whole Continental Europe.

UPMC (Université Paris VI or Université Pierre et Marie Curie) is the largest scientific and medical complex in France, active in many fields of research with scope and achievements at the highest level, as demonstrated by the many awards (, including the Nobel Prize) regularly won by UPMC researchers, and the many international partnerships it maintains across all five continents. Several universities rankings have put UPMC at the 1st place in France, and it has been ranked as one of the top universities in the world.