【Article by Office of International Cooperation】
On November 24, NCCU President Tsai-Yen Li and a delegation of NCCU officials visited Charles University in the Czech Republic to attend the opening ceremony for the "Supply Chain Resilience Center" (SCRC) cooperation. NCCU President Tsai-Yen Li and the Rector of Charles University, Prof. Milena Králíčková signed the cooperation agreement, confirming the allocation of funds for the five-year project. During the visit, President Li also visited NCCU's partnered universities, the University of Vienna in Austria, and Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, to expand the university's academic cooperation in Central Europe.

In addition to President Tsai-Yen Li, 16 representatives from six NCCU colleges (International College of Innovation, College of Social Science, College of Science, College of Commerce, College of Communication, and College of Foreign Languages) also visited Charlese University for three days as part of the SCRC project. Prior to the ceremony, they held working meetings with relevant departments at Charles University. During the inauguration, President Li and Charles University President Králíčková performed at the ceremony with Tsung-Tsong Wu, Minister of National Science and Technology Council; Liang-Ruey Ke, The Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Czech Republic; Miloš Vystrčil, President of the Czech Senate; and Markéta Pekarová Adamová, the President of the Czech Chamber of Deputies. The event was attended by esteemed delegates from both universities and distinguished officials from the governments.

In his speech, President Tsai-Yen Li emphasized the importance of a stable chip supply for national security, democratic freedom, and a sustainable future. He expressed the honor of representing Taiwan in collaborating with Charles University in semiconductor supply research, delving into the geopolitics behind chip supply chains, and cultivating future talents. He highlighted the goal of ensuring both Taiwan and the Czech Republic progress steadily and lead internationally in semiconductor technology, promoting a sustainable future.

This SCRC cooperation was started from a memorandum signed by President Tsai-Yen Li and Charles University Vice President Jan Polak at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March of this year. At this crucial moment in the reorganization of the semiconductor supply chain, the project will run from 2023 to 2027. It will integrate expertise from scholars in Taiwan and the Czech Republic in geopolitics, supply chain resilience, educational investment, and environmental sustainability. The collaboration aims to enhance the resilience of the Czech semiconductor industry, facilitate cooperation and exchanges between experts and scholars from both countries, engage in industry-academia collaboration, and increase the project's impact. This project marks a milestone in Taiwan-Czech social science cooperation in the context of high technology.


During the visit, the NCCU delegation also visited two nearby partner universities: the University of Vienna in Austria and Masaryk University in the Czech Republic. The University of Vienna, Central Europe's largest teaching and research institution, ranked 130th in the 2023 QS World University Rankings and has produced 21 Nobel laureates. President Tsai-Yen Li and the University of Vienna President Sebastian Schütze expressed their hope to deepen bilateral cooperation, expanding beyond student exchanges to include research collaboration in areas such as information technology, artificial intelligence, and politics.

Masaryk University, located in Brno, the second-largest city in the Czech Republic, is one of the most competitive universities in the country. In 2008, it signed a university-level MOU with NCCU. During the visit, NCCU representatives and Masaryk University discussed future collaboration directions in cyber security, regional economics, supply chain resilience, and language learning within the Faculty of Informatics and the Faculty of Arts. NCCU looks forward to continuing academic cooperation with internationally renowned universities to enhance students' understanding of the global community and promote further exchange and collaboration.