(Left 4 - Right 3) Alex Robertson, ECCT Board Director; Xie, Shu-ya, Yunlin Deputy Magistrate; Dr. Chen Wen-chang, NTU President; Su Chih-feng, Legislative; Yang Yu-huei, MOE Director General; Dr. Chiang Mao-hsiung, Dean of NTU’s College of Engineering; Eric Yu, ECCT LCI Vice Chair

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Event review video: NTU
Press release: United Daily News / EnergyOMNI / Taiwan Daily Network / Facebook

National Taiwan University on 5 September hosted the successful opening ceremony of the “Regional Industry Talent and Technology Development Base Project - Offshore Wind Power Industry Talent and Technology Cultivation Project” (國立臺灣大學離岸風力發電產業人才及技術培育計畫-啟動記者會), at NTU’s Yunlin Branch campus, with the full support of the ECCT’s Low Carbon Initiative (LCI) 歐洲商會-低碳倡議行動 and over 16 *ECCT member companies. The opening ceremony also marked the launch of the “Taiwan Offshore Wind Power Talent Cultivation Alliance” funded by the Ministry of Education (MOE 教育部) and in collaboration with the Yunlin County Government (雲林縣政府), aimed at cultivating the talent needed for Taiwan’s wind energy development. Yunlin Deputy Magistrate Xie, Shu-ya (雲林縣副縣長謝淑亞), MOE Director General Yang Yu-huei (教育部技術及職業教育司司長楊玉惠), NTU President Dr Chen Wen-chang (台大校長陳文章), Legislative Su Chih-feng (立法委員蘇治芬), Dean of NTU’s College of Engineering Dr Chiang Mao-hsiung (台大工學院院長江茂雄博士), and ECCT Director Alex Robertson (歐洲在臺商務協會理事林正光) made opening remarks. The event was well attended by over 120 dignitaries and guests.

The aforementioned project is part of NTU’s ongoing efforts in collaboration with partner schools and industry clusters across Taiwan to implement the Ministry of Education's “Offshore Wind Power Industry Talent and Technology Development Program”. The MOE has authorised NTU to utilise the programme's funds to establish educational training programmes at NTU’s Taipei and Yunlin campuses. 

The LCI plans to actively cooperate with NTU in the Yunlin training programme in addition to its ongoing talent development efforts through its “Industry-Academia Cooperation Working Group” where it started collaboration with the NTU on the International Mentorship Program (IMP) since 2022. The LCI has invited over 20 ECCT member companies to support the NTU with the programme. 

VIP guests supporting the Offshore Wind Power Industry Talent and Technology Cultivation Project launch ceremony

The Offshore Wind Power Industry Talent and Technology Cultivation Project is being led by the NTU president and Dean Chiang Mao-hsiung, who is Executive Director of the project. In the first phase of the project, NTU will set up educational programmes and hold classes on its campuses in Taipei and Yunlin. It will also collaborate with five technological universities, namely National Formosa University, Taipei City University of Science & Technology, Chienkuo Technology University, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, and National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, as well as corporate entities such as the Metal Industries Research & Development Centre and Taiwan Construction Research Institute. The six universities will offer courses based on their respective strengths and resources, catering to both enrolled students and industry professionals.

The offshore wind power talent development programme will be categorised into three domains: 1) Wind turbine manufacturing and operations; 2) Subsea structure manufacturing or operations and 3) Maritime engineering manufacturing or operations. The programme will also cover white-collar engineering design and analysis courses across these three domains, as well as vocational technical training courses for green-collar workers in operational settings. Besides training both internal and external students, NTU will assist partner schools in terms of faculty development and curriculum equipment to expand and expedite talent cultivation.

By effectively integrating resources, the project aims to create a comprehensive domestic ecosystem and industrial chain for the offshore wind power industry. It also seeks to establish a cross-disciplinary platform for industry-academia-government-research collaboration to promote local industry development, enhance industrial technological capabilities and international competitiveness. The ultimate goal is to make progress towards net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Alex Robertson, ECCT Board Director, gave the opening remarks, along with Dr. Chiang Mao-hsiung, NTU Dean of College of Engineering, elaborating more about the wind power talent project

NTU has been actively promoting offshore wind power talent cultivation since 2018 through efforts such as the establishment of the “Offshore Wind Power Credit Program” and the promotion of the “Taiwan-Netherlands Offshore Wind Power Talent Cultivation Cooperation Project”.

*ECCT member companies participating in the NTU’s “Regional Industry Talent and Technology Development Base Project - Offshore Wind Power Industry Talent and Technology Cultivation Project” are (in the order of their registration): Vestas Taiwan, Bluefloat Energy, Wpd, EDF Renewables, Aggreko, TotalEnergies, ENERCON Taiwan, Signify, Taiya Renewable Energy, Corio, Boskalis, Deutsche Windtechnik, Taipei Language Institute, Siemens Gamesa, Synera Renewable Energy, CI Wind Power Development Taiwan