On September 16, a six-member delegation from Taiwan, led by Director-General Kun-Fong Kuo from the Department of Agricultural Science and Technology at the Ministry of Agriculture, visited Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo). The delegation also included representatives from the Fisheries Agency, the Taoyuan District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, and the Agricultural Technology Research Institute (ATRI).
Back row, from left: Yusuke Otani (Group Leader, GVCC Administration Group, Research Planning Division), Masashi Sato (Director, GVCC Promotion Office, Research Planning Division), Ching-Chao Lee (Specialist, Fisheries Agency, Ministry of Agriculture (Taiwan)), Sung-Yen Yu (Associate Researcher, Agricultural Technology Research Institute), and Ting-Hua Liang (Assistant Researcher, Agricultural Technology Research Institute).
The visit was organized to exchange views on research governance and foresight practices, while gaining a deeper understanding of Science Tokyo’s long-term vision development process, its promotion of interdisciplinary research through the Visionary Initiatives (VI), and the role and operational framework of the Global Vision Coordination Center (GVCC).
Representing Science Tokyo were Hajime Nitta, Deputy Director of the GVCC, and Kaori Nemoto, Specially Appointed Associate Professor at the GVCC, among others.
Science Tokyo introduced its future scenarios originally developed by the former Tokyo Institute of Technology’s Laboratory for Design of Social Innovation in Global Networks (DLab), which were built around the concept of “the future we want.” The presentation also covered the development of the eight Visionary Initiatives and the University’s collaborative research support system, in which University Research Administrators (URAs) and other professionals work closely with researchers throughout the research lifecycle.
The Taiwanese delegation presented its Taiwan Agricultural Technology Foresight 2040 initiative, highlighting 56 policy and action recommendations as well as a governance framework that links strategic planning with the development of research portfolios.
During the discussion session, participants engaged in a lively dialogue on a wide range of topics, including methodologies for developing future-oriented visions in response to medium- to long-term societal and environmental challenges, prioritization of research fields, and translating research outcomes into societal impact.
Through this visit, Science Tokyo and the Taiwanese delegation deepened their mutual understanding of foresight strategy and research governance. Moving forward, both parties will continue engagement through information sharing and expert-level dialogue.
