The National Research Council Canada (NRC) is Canada's largest federal government scientific research and development agency, with 14 research centres located across Canada. Founded in 1916, the NRC plays three core roles for Canada business innovation, supporting public policy priorities, and advancing scientific knowledge. The NRC is a connector at Canada’s research and innovation system. Over the last 70 years, the NRC’s Industrial Research Assistance Program has provided advice, connections, and funding to help Canadian small and medium-sized businesses increase their innovation capacity and take ideas to market.
In 2016, Iain Stewart became the twelfth President of the NRC. Mr. Stewart’s most recent career highlights include his role as Associate Secretary at the Treasury Board Secretariat. As Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategy and Policy and other positions, he worked on national science and research policy at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. Mr. Stewart is a member of a number of federal Deputy Minister committees and the Canada Research Coordinating Committee.
Since 1997, the NRC and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) (formerly known as the National Science Council of the Executive Yuan in Taiwan) have established a strong relationship. In October 2017, Minister Liang Gee Chen led a delegation to Ottawa to celebrate the “NRC and MOST 20th Anniversary Science & Technology collaboration” and to witness the renewal of the collaborative Memorandum of Understanding with President Stewart. The NRC’s long-standing collaborative partners in Taiwan include MOST, NARLabs, ITRI and Textile Research Institute.
On May 22, President Stewart was accompanied by Executive Director Jordan Reeves of Canadian Trade Office in Taipei to meet with Minister Liang Gee Chen to update ongoing collaborations and to discuss future engagement. Minister Chen welcomed and expressed appreciation for President Stewart’s first visit to Taiwan. Directors General of department of natural sciences and sustainable development, department of engineering and technologies, department of life sciences, and department of international cooperation & science education, and president of NarLabs joined this welcome meeting as well. On the basis of existing solid collaborative foundations, both sides hoped to continue the collaboration on mutually beneficial areas to cope with common grand challenges and to advance the collaboration achievement.
“Canada is our role model in terms of innovation and entrepreneurship. According to the study conducted by Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI), Canada ranked as number three in the world for its Global Entrepreneurship index (GEI) in 2018, which shows how inspiring Canada is to new start-ups. Today we are more than honored to have President Stewart to share with us about his rich and first-handed experiences in both strengthening research excellence and commercializing innovative and breakthrough ideas.” Minister Chen said.
During this trip, President Stewart will visit Academia Sinica, National Center for High-performance Computing (NCHC), National Space Organization, Hsinchu Science Park and ITRI. He will also meet with Vice President Chen to show appreciation for his support for bilateral science and technology cooperation during VP Chen’s term as the Minister of the National Science Council.
The NRC President’s visit to Taiwan aims to strengthen and enhance the cooperation between both countries ensuring they work together to help solve the world’s grand challenges and create a win-win situation.
by Department of International Cooperation and Science Education, MOST
