In an effort to strengthen ICT-based research cooperation between Taiwan and Japan, and in accordance with the recommendation of Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Taiwan’s National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs) and Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) signed a memorandum of collaboration in September 2019. NARLabs had initially planned to lead a team of researchers in a visit to NICT and conduct a joint workshop in Japan in spring 2020. However, in response to the coronavirus outbreak at the beginning of 2020, the two institutes worked together to organize a virtual joint workshop on July 27, 2020.

Through this event, focusing on space weather, earth observation, laser communication, AI, cyber security and photonics communication, NARLabs provided a collaborative platform to share ongoing research progress and future research plans as well as exchange information about development trends in these fields. In addition, new ideas for research collaboration were explored via group discussions and input from all participants.

Providing a collaborative platform aligns with NARLabs’ missions of “establishing R&D platforms” and “supporting academic research”. Currently, NICT is engaged in collaborations with National Taiwan University focusing on cyber security and Academia Sinica focusing on computer vision. NARLabs acts as a hub in Taiwan for NICT to coordinate these two projects.

The joint workshop concluded with the identification of three major fields for future collaboration: space technology, cyber security with AI, and silicon photonics for fiber optic communication. We hope to call for joint proposals in the very near future while continuing to serve as a collaborative platform for universities and research institutes engaged in ICT research in Taiwan.