In 2019, the European Association of Research & Technology Organisations(EARTO) established its international community RTOs International Network (RIN). This network consists of 10 leading members of EARTO as well as key RTOs from outside of Europe. Currently, there are 15 leading RTOs worldwide, including the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan.
Currently, I serve as the Chair of RIN on behalf of ITRI. This year’s RIN CEO Summit was held in Taiwan from March 26 to 27, marking the first time the event took place in Asia. Leaders of RTOs from 12 countries participated in the meeting and jointly advocated that RIN members should accelerate the building of a resilient society through innovative technology and international cooperation to create a better future.
“Resilient Society” is the fourth domain added to ITRI’s 2035 Technology Strategy and Roadmap in 2023, complementing the original three: Smart Living, Quality Health, and Sustainable Environment. It also incorporates with the Intelligentization Enabling Technologies, such as Gen AI and next-generation communications, which support the development of all the domain applications. This year, ITRI’s research team at Industry, Science and Technology International Strategy Center (ISTI), led by General Director Jeff Lin, has specifically chosen Resilience in Action: Technology Enables a Sustainable Taiwan as the theme for their annual publication,IEKTopics.It examines the implications of a resilient society and the significance of Taiwan’s sustainable development. It explores resilience from various angles, including the national policies of advanced countries, trends on startup ecosystems, global supply chain analysis, Gen AI applications, and developments in transportation, electricity, and medical sectors. Alongside these insights, the publication also provides direction for Taiwan’s industrial development and highlights ITRI’s relevant R&D applications.
IEKTopics2024 addresses the social challenges facing Taiwan in recent years, including short-term impacts such as pandemics, extreme weather, regional conflicts, and energy supply issues; long-term pressures such as the impact of geomorphic damage to infrastructure maintenance, and the effects of aging populations and declining birthrates on workforce. ITRI continues to integrate its technological capabilities in infrastructure resilience, resource & energy resilience, and productivity resilience to respond agilely to risks and minimize losses from shocks and crises. This strategy is expected to turn crises into opportunities and foster new business prospects.
Finally,we hope that the research findings presented in this publication will serve as a catalyst, inspiring all sectors of Taiwan's society to collaborate across domains when facing major shifts in global industry and technology trends. By leveraging innovative technologies and solutions, we aim to promote Taiwan's sustainable development in economic, livelihoods, and environment.Our path to sustainable development will make Taiwan a model partner in helping the world build “resilient societies”.
