RIN, the world’s largest network of RTOs, convened its CEOs Meeting in Asia for the first time, bringing together 12 leading international research institutes at ITRI.
The RTOs International Network (RIN) has convened its CEOs Meeting 2024 in Taiwan on March 26-27. Operating under the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations (EARTO), RIN stands as the world’s largest platform connecting research and technology organizations (RTOs) globally. It is the first time for RIN to hold its CEOs Meeting in Taiwan, bringing together 12 esteemed international RTOs from countries such as Finland, France, Germany, Japan, and Canada.
Stephen Su, RIN Chair and ITRI Senior Vice President, remarked, “This year’s RIN CEOs Meeting marks a significant milestone as it’s the first time held in Asia and hosted by Taiwan. This decision recognizes Taiwan’s exceptional research capabilities and highlights the international acclaim it has garnered.” Su emphasized, “To promote global resilience and enhance responses to urgent challenges such as climate change, aging populations, and labor shortages, ITRI has recommended fostering tighter partnerships through innovative technologies and shared resources.” During the meeting on March 27, ITRI further proposed the “SUPER” initiative, which stands for sustainability, uniqueness, people, entrepreneurship, and resilience as the five key focal points for future global research, development, and innovation (RD&I) operations.
EATRO President Dr. Antti Vasara emphasized the importance of international RD&I collaborations, stating, “Within the RIN network, we conduct activities such as sharing best practices and benchmarking, so that we can learn to be better.” He further commented, “Europe and Taiwan are places which are very advanced in technology and have a long track record of successful collaboration in research and innovation. We also face similar challenges, such as aging societies, sustainable food production, climate change, and clean energy. These are topics we hope the collaboration will only increase going forward. We are delighted to see all the Taiwanese RTOs in this event and hope it will result in a lot of bridges being built with our organizations.”
On hosting the RIN’s CEOs Meeting in Taiwan, ITRI President Edwin Liu stated, “This meeting has brought together leaders from various applied research institutions, enhancing Taiwan’s international visibility and fostering collaboration opportunities in areas such as technology cooperation, talent exchange, and regional connectivity.” He further emphasized, “ITRI has actively strengthened ties with leading RTOs worldwide, including joining EARTO in 2003 and co-establishing RIN in 2019. In addressing urgent global challenges such as extreme weather, ITRI advocated for a united front among RTOs through collaborative research and best practices sharing to ensure societal stability and fortitude. Successful examples include ITRI’s joint development of a CO2 conversion process for carbon reduction with Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), innovative solar modules for easy disassembling and recycling verified by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), and a 2023 talent exchange with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).
Structured within EARTO, RIN is one of the world’s largest platforms connecting 15 leading RTOs worldwide, including Singapore’s Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR), Japan’s AIST, Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), France’s CEA, Denmark’s Danish Technological Institute (DTI), Germany’s Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Brazil’s IPT, Taiwan’s ITRI, Canada’s NRC, South Korea’s National Research Council of Science and Technology (NST), Sweden’s Research Institutes of Sweden AB (RISE), Norway’s SINTEF, Spain’s TECNALIA, Netherlands’ Dutch Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), and Finland’s VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. One of ITRI’s initiatives as the RIN Chair was the establishment of talent exchange mechanisms within RIN to promote international technological cooperation and enable seamless interdisciplinary exchanges.