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Inspiration from Experience
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Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park, headquarters of Taiwan's high-tech industry, has won worldwide acclaim for its management achievements.
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Over the past 20 years, Taiwan has made great strides in raising the level of its science and technology, contributing markedly to the country's economic strength as a whole. This experience in high-tech development has provided great inspiration in many areas.
In the course of high-tech development in Taiwan, the government has played a key role in creating a proper environment. In the early stages, the government stressed establishing special funds for national scientific development, working out long-term plans and organization of specific responsibilities, and completing experimental centers for academic research and expensive and valuable instruments. At the present stage, emphasis is on carrying out a policy of industrial upgrading in the area of science and technology and bolstering national competitiveness through science and technology legislation. The government has long devised policies to develop important technologies based on the recommendations of the national science and technology conferences, which solicit opinions from industry, government agencies, and academic institutions. Through the investment of money and manpower, the government has worked to create a macro-environment favorable to high-tech development.
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Through investment of money and manpower, the government has worked to create a macro-environment favorable to high-tech development.
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The high value people placed on education and the government's dedication to the cultivation and application of professional manpower resources have contributed to Taiwan's abundant high-quality labor force. Such resources are the foundation for building Taiwan into an island of science and technology.
Cultivation of Qualified Scientists and Technicians
Measures for cultivating high-tech talents include, in addition to college education, selection of individuals by various organizations to do research in Taiwan or abroad; post doctoral research; and training of qualified industrial technicians.
The government also coordinates resources of relevant units to strengthen the planning of training personnel in high-technology fields. Depending on changes in science and technology personnel structure and other adjustments, on-the-job and pre-job training is provided accordingly to keep pace with fast-changing technologies. By doing so, new industries can develop rapidly, and high-tech research units in both the government and private sectors can obtain sufficient and high-quality manpower.
Employment of High-technology Professionals
Reverence for education has made study abroad popular in Taiwan. After advanced studies, many students with excellent performance are asked to return to Taiwan as qualified high-tech scientists, working in a highly developed environment created by both the government and the private sector. The best-known talents who have returned to contribute to their nation's development are Dr. Wu Ta-you, former president of the Academia Sinica; Dr. Lee Yuan-tseh, incumbent president of the Academia Sinica; and Dr. Morris Chang, chairman of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.
Awarding Talents in High-technology
To encourage outstanding scientists and technicians, the government has formulated measures either to reward R&D in relevant high-tech fields or subsidize research on specific topics. Such encouragement enables R&D and training of talents to quickly advance in a cooperative, positively competitive, and educational environment.
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Strong entrepreneurial spirit and professional skills have made Taiwan internationally renowned for its manufacturing industries.
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The National Science and Technology Conference's recommendation for continuously enhancing the competitiveness of both Taiwan and its science and technology industries was to steadily increase Taiwan's R&D budget and ensure that this budget was appropriately used. Consequently, the government has not only allocated R&D funding for science and technology, but also enacted various incentive measures to stimulate the private sector into conducting R&D. In 2001, R&D funding for the entire country reached NT$205 billion, up from the 1991 figure of NT$81.8 billion.
The establishment of the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park, the Industrial Technology Research Institute, and the Institute for Information Industry; the promotion and execution of 12 major focal points of science and technology; the success of the ten newly emerging industries and eight items of key technology; and the concerted efforts of various other R&D industries have led to the flourishing development of Taiwan's high-tech industries. With the guidance of government policy and the technological cooperation between research institutes and private enterprises, the goals of making science and technology R&D a pillar of industrial development and extending high-technology to other sectors of industry have been achieved.
The government's efforts to promote technological development in agriculture, transportation, and medical care are closely related to its efforts to improve living standards, with science and technology being used to greatly improve health services, transportation, environmental quality, and living conditions. Moreover, the government has made it clear that plans for developing life-improvement science and technology are limited to environmental protection, medical services, food, natural disaster prevention, and peaceful use of nuclear energy.
In the favorable environment fostered by the government, efforts by the private sector have quickened the pace of high-tech development. Under the practice and experiences of Taiwan's industrial structure, which stresses small and medium-sized enterprises, businesses have developed a unique and innovatively flexible and energetic style of management. In particular, the high-tech industry, with highly efficient management teams, strong work ethic, and professionalism, has developed a manufacturing ability that has won world recognition.
For example, Taiwan's best-known high-tech companies, Acer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., United Microelectronics Corps., Mitac Inc., Quanta Computer Inc., and Asustek Computer Inc. have employees with high educational backgrounds, expertise, and great foresight. They cultivate talented professionals, strengthen the management ability of R&D teams, and keep close relations with other international enterprises through alliances and partnerships. In recent years, these enterprises have further expanded their scale of business, establishing global divisions for production and marketing, thus broadening Taiwan's international recognition in the information, electronics, and communications industries.
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