The Maritime and Port Bureau (MPB) and National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST), represented respectively by MPB Director-General Yeh, Hsieh-Lung and NKUST President Yang, Ching-Yu, signed a memorandum of understanding this morning (10th) on the NKUST Cijin campus. Going forward, the research powers of NKUST’s International Maritime Convention Research Center will be heavily relied on as MPB and the university jointly build a national-level international maritime convention information platform and shipping industry dynamic knowledge base while working together to cultivate talents with expertise in international maritime affairs. This partnership has set an important milestone for government-academia collaboration within Taiwan’s maritime sector. Chief Secretary Liou, Guo-Lie of the Ocean Affairs Council of the Executive Yuan, Huang, Den-Fu, Deputy Director-General of the Kaohsiung City Government Marine Bureau, Chairman Chang, Yen-I of Evergreen Marine Corporation, Lee, Hsien-Yi, Chairman of Taiwan International Ports Corporation, Ltd., Chen, Shao-liang, President of Taiwan International Ports Corporation, Ltd., Hsieh, Wei-Chun, Chairman of CR Classification Society as well as more than 60 distinguished guests from industry, government and academia attended the signing ceremony. After the conclusion of the ceremony, guests were invited to visit the "Maritime Engineering Elite Training Base for Offshore Wind Industry" of NKUST to witness the university’s abundant professional capabilities in training maritime personnel.
As Director-General Yeh, Hsieh-Lung stated, the alliance and cooperation between the MPB and NKUST is believed to be a very important step in the development of Taiwan’s maritime transport and the industry’s alignment with international standards. As the supervisory authority of national maritime transport, MPB is fully responsible for ensuring Taiwan’s maritime management system is in line with international standards. As such, this has been one of the most crucial tasks that Director-General Yeh has sought to complete after assuming office in September last year. Shortly after NKUST established its International Maritime Convention Research Center in November last year, Director-General Yeh had the opportunity to visit the university on January 8 this year. The timing could not have been more perfect, and Director-General Yeh even quoted poetry describing the joy of finding a long-lost beloved to give words to his great pleasure in being able to establish this alliance. Since the merger of three universities into NKUST in 2018, the school has successively established the Railway Technology Center, the Wind Industry Training Base, and the International Maritime Convention Research Center. Through resource integration and complementary advantages, NKUST has harnessed and magnified the research powers the three universities each previously possessed into a more powerful and synergistic research energy that provides industry members and government agencies with a full range of solutions. As such, the MPB looks greatly forward to substantive exchanges and cooperation with NKUST as soon as possible to accelerate the construction of a more immediate and complete international maritime convention information platform that will enable adequate response to the rapid changes and diversified development of global marine transportation development trends.
In his speech, President Yang, Ching-Yu said that the International Maritime Convention Research Center now possesses as much as 75 Gigabyte and 1.5 million pages of data, demonstrating the value of the university merger. As the maritime industry plays a key role in Taiwan’s economic development, the training of Taiwan’s maritime talents is of utmost importance. We must therefore focus our attention on how maritime colleges and universities improve their curriculum planning and teaching materials in accordance with the development of marine science and technology as well as maritime-related international conventions. As present, Taiwan only has a few colleges and universities dedicated to cultivating maritime talents. To address this issue, NKUST first established the Maritime Personnel Training Center, and then formulated the International Maritime Convention Research Center in 2020 so that the maritime information research platform can be used to collect, summarize, organize and analyze the proceedings of international maritime organizations with the goal of serving as the government’s think tank for providing maritime policy orientation and maritime information. Now that an alliance has been built with the MPB, the center aims, in the future, to fully grasp the latest dynamic information on international conventions, timely update domestic maritime regulations, and work together with the MPB to instill Taiwan’s maritime industry and seafarer work environment with new vitality, all of which are tasks of great meaning and value.
In his speech, Lee, Hsien-Yi, Chairman of Taiwan International Ports Corporation, Ltd., expressed his great pleasure in witnessing the signing ceremony. He also voiced his anticipation of industry, government and academia collaborations that will provide the government with policy recommendations and a better platform that offers ocean carriers with better services.
Hsieh, Wei-Chun, Chairman of the CR Classification Society added that the MPB attaches great importance to today’s signing ceremony, as evidenced by the many top-level officials accompanying the Director-General. To signify its joint commitment, the CR Classification Society has recently upgraded its Renewable Energy Group to the Renewable Energy Department with the aim to jointly contribute to Taiwan’s maritime industry in accordance with national policies in the future.
The signing of the memorandum of understanding between the MPB and the NKUST constitutes a new model of government-academia cooperation that will open up new opportunities for Taiwan's maritime development. With the two entities joining forces to become the strongest pillars of support for Taiwan's maritime industry, Taiwan's maritime transport will become a globally leading industry that enables the nation to become a true maritime power!
Contact person: Huang, Ling-Yu, Section Chief, Planning Division
Contact number: +886-2-89782790
