The results from the Agriculture Production 4.0 project promoted by NPUST have been excellent with wide-ranging interdisciplinary research that has attracted the attention of Malaysia’s KLK International Sdn. Bhd. As a result, the two parties agreed to join forces, putting ink to an industry-academia strategic alliance agreement on July 20th (2017). Under the agreement the pair will cooperate on academic exchanges, practical industry activities and talent cultivation initiatives. KLK International operates out of the Malaysian East Coast Economic Region, an important economic development zone in Malaysia covering an area of 66,000 square kilometers. Recently, the Malaysian enterprise invited Director Yu-Min Wang of the NPUST Department of Civil Engineering to form a professional interdisciplinary team, integrating expertise in geological development, tropical fruit production, crops, and high economic value fish cultivation, so that from the nursing of seedlings to the mass production, protection, processing and marketing of products, the comprehensive management of the entire production chain is seamlessly integrated. By concentrating the capacities of government, industry, and academia, Taiwan and Malaysia are able to benefit from accelerated mutual economic momentum.

This new alliance can also be regarded as a major success for the New Southbound Policy, and is a major milestone for progress in on the Malaysian front. In the future, hopes are that a New Southbound Office will be established in the area to handle affairs for Malaysia-Taiwan talent cultivation and to help execute policy objectives. According to NPUST President Chang-Hsien Tai, “this cooperation will allow for an interdisciplinary integration that will unite the capacities of teams from each of the colleges, carrying out work according to categories of expertise, with, for example, the Department of Plant Industry taking on responsibility for crop cultivation and variety improvements; the Department of Aquaculture and Department of Veterinary Medicine handling the breeding and managing of high economic value fish; and the Department of Civil Engineering addressing water and soil conservation and monitoring soil and the environment in the development area; and for the processing, packaging and marketing side of things, teams from the College of Management have been recruited – thus manifesting the strength of university’s cross-domain education policies. The project will also allow NPUST and Malaysia to enjoy mutual learning exchanges, cultivate more outstanding talent, and create new opportunities for employment.” The chairman of KLK International emphasized that “the strengths of the on-location teams from NPUST allowed for the integration of each of the tasks, reducing fragmentation and faults in communication. Adding to this, with an excellent reputation in technical and vocational agriculture education in Taiwan, NPUST can help Malaysian talent to advance in their studies and create new opportunities for people from both countries.”

Hopes are that the bilateral cooperation will make a contribution to the development of Malaysia’s East Coast Economic Region while opening new roads for professional talent from both counties and adding new value to agriculture industries.