Jorg Polster, the Director General of the German Institute Taipei, received Taiwan's Science and Technology Profession Medal on Monday for his contributions to international collaboration in science and technology, earning him the nation's first foreign winner. The award was presented to Polster at a ceremony in Taipei by Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), said Tom Yeh, the Organization's Director of International Cooperation. The recognition was given for Polster's efforts to improve exchanges, such as enabling the signing of a science and technology agreement between Taiwan and Germany in March.
Bettina Stark-Watzinger, the Federal Minister of Education and Research of Germany, who came to Taiwan for the first time as a German minister in 26 years, witnessed the execution of the agreement, Yeh stated. The NSTC Minister Wu Tsung-tsong said the agreement would allow Taiwan and Germany to collaborate more closely with one another in fields such as artificial intelligence applications, semiconductors, IC design, cars, hydrogen energy, and education.
Yeh highlighted various scientific fields where the two nations have worked together, including semiconductors and the creation of lithium batteries. Polster, who has a degree in physics from the Dresden University of Technology, stated at the presentation of the prize that he recognized the value of collaboration between research and technology since he is a scientist himself. "I can promise you that from myself and most of my colleagues from my office, we will do everything possible to make this cooperation in science and technology and research more comprehensive than today", Polster stated.
The German representative emphasized his satisfaction at witnessing the potential of the younger generation and expressed the hope that these students will continue academic interactions in the years to come. A number of memorandums of understanding were recently executed between Taiwanese universities and research institutions and his alma mater, Dresden, according to Polster. He also mentioned a program of cooperation that enabled pupils from National Hsinchu Senior High School to visit Germany.
Polster stated, mutually beneficial arrangements were made under his leadership of the German Institute Taipei, which serves as the nation's de facto embassy in the absence of official relations, paving the way for the growth of both economic collaboration and cooperative research initiatives. The NSTC established the Science and Technology Profession Medal in recognition of individuals who have made significant contributions to Taiwan's advancement in science and technology. Other winners include Kung Hsiang-Tsung, head of the Taiwan AI Academy, and Barry Lam, chairman of Quanta Computer Inc., one of the biggest producers of laptop computers and other electronics in the world.
