Taipei Tech and Penn State expand on multidimensional partnership

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State hosted a delegation from the National Taipei University of Technology (Taipei Tech) on March 25-26. The Taipei Tech delegation included President Sea-Fue Wang, an alumnus of Taipei Tech and Penn State doctoral graduate in ceramic science; Vice President Shih-Hsuan Yang; Ho-Chiao Chuang, dean of the Office of Research and Development; Sheng-Tung Huang, dean of the Industry Liaison Office; and Jessie Tien-Hui Lin, administrative specialist.  

The delegation had the opportunity to meet with a wide-range, multidisciplinary group of Penn State faculty, as well as Provost Justin Schwartz; Senior Vice President for Research Andrew Read; Interim Vice Provost for Global Sabine Klahr and other staff from Penn State Global; Associate Vice President for Research Doug Wolfe; Carleen Maitland, associate dean for research in the College of Information Sciences and Technology; Madhavan Swaminathan, department head of electrical engineering; Vincent Meunier, department head of engineering science and mechanics; Clive Randall, director of the Materials Research Institute (MRI); Susan Trolier-McKinstry, director of the W. M. Keck Smart Materials Integration Laboratory; and Fan-Bill Cheung, director for the Global Nuclear Power Safety Center, among many others. 

"It was a great honor and pleasure to host President Wang and the delegation from Taipei Tech, one of Penn State’s university-wide strategic partners,” said Klahr. “We have strong research and education collaborations across various disciplines which both universities seek to expand. President Wang’s generous commitment of scholarships for Penn State students to study and engage in research in Taipei Tech will further this goal.” 

Established in 1912, Taipei Tech is a core technology institute in Taiwan, specializing in engineering, design, and management. With 10% of Taipei Tech alumni now working as business founders, board directors, and CEOs of Taiwan’s stock companies, the university demonstrates its long and strong ties to industry and local enterprises, making the institution excel in translating the latest scientific inventions from research labs into solutions for real-world problems.  

As multilayered strategic partners, Penn State and Taipei Tech feature five active agreements, evolving from the initial biosensing research-focused agreement with the Office of Senior Vice Provost for Research (OSVPR) in 2019 to a broad range of research collaborations, as well as eight joint degree programs in multidisciplinary programs, including information sciences and technology, computer science and engineering. During the last Taipei Tech delegation visit in October 2022, a signing ceremony took place where two agreements, a concurrent graduate degree program in informatics and a seed grants collaboration with Materials Research Institute were signed between President Neeli Bendapudi and President Sea-Fue Wang.  

Collaborations between the two universities have yielded fruitful results. The seed grants program, funded by Taipei Tech, Penn State MRI and Penn State Global, awarded three projects in April 2023. Within one year, two research papers, co-published by Tao Zhou (Penn State) and Chi-Ching Kuo (Taipei Tech), have appeared in Progress in Materials Science and Advanced Materials. Penn State faculty members Susan Trolier-McKinstry and Clive Randall were invited to teach courses and give lectures at Taipei Tech last year. During her visit, Trolier-McKinstry met with technical leads at the world’s largest semiconductor maker (TSMC) and subsequently, she was invited to submit a proposal with TSMC, and the grant has been approved by TSMC.  

“We are proud to have Taipei Tech as a long-term partner in this fruitful relationship," said Andrew Read, senior vice president for research. "The continued commitment to STEM -— through scholarships, seed programs and teaching opportunities — has generated tremendous impact to our students, faculty, workforces and world, across many disciplines. We look forward to many more years of growth in this amazing partnership.”  

The collaborative partnership has evolved from STEM to the liberal arts since Penn State's delegation visit Taipei Tech last March. As of October 2023, nine STEM faculty at Taipei Tech have received the English teaching certificate from Penn State’s Department of Applied Linguistics and EPPIC (English for Professional Purposes Intercultural Center). A new round of 12 Taipei Tech STEM faculty have registered to participate in the English teaching certificate training this May.  

“The multifaceted collaborations, spanning from STEM to applied linguistics, testify the breadth and depth of sustainable collaboration between Penn State and Taipei Tech,” said Anna Marshall, associate director for Asia partnerships in Penn State Global. “The strength of bilateral partnership lies in the shared vision and diverse talents from both Penn State and Taipei Tech which enriches our collective effort.”      

Taipei Tech plans to invest in 10 new scholarship programs annually for Penn State STEM graduate students to do research at Taipei Tech during the summer.  

“I only give the scholarship opportunities to Penn State students, as I am a proud alum,” said Wang.  

For more information, contact Marshall at awm15@psu.edu.