Taiwan/Japan: Hsinchu Science Park and Kyoto Research Park Sign MOU

Mr. Toshiharu Moriuchi, the President of Kyoto Research Park Corp. and Mr. TU Chi-Hsiang, the Acting Director General of Hsinchu Science Park Bureau signed a cooperation MOU on August 25, 2014 with the hope of enhancing collaboration between the two science parks by way of information and personnel exchanges and communication, technology transfer, and joint business development. 

Established in 1987, Kyoto Research Park (KRP) has operated since 1989 in a land area covering a space of 5.6 ha. and 16 buildings.  As the first private operated research park in Japan, KRP is established to fulfill the goals of combining the strength and collaborations of the industry, the government, and the academia to create industrial innovation and to commercialize the R&D developed by the academic research institutions for market application. 

Even though it is a private operated research park, KRP has sufficiently made use of the strength of government-owned research bodies to facilitate development of their 300 tenant companies. 

KRP’s cooperation with Hsinchu Science Park (HSP) is based on the following reasons.  The industrial structure of northern Taiwan is similar to that of Kyoto specializing in semi-conductor and electronic equipments and components.  HSP and KRP may seek to find a new way of cooperation to follow the economic developments under globalization.  Cooperation between HSP and KRP will bring in a win-win situation for the tenant firms of both sides.  Taiwan may serve as a door to China market for the companies of KRP, while companies of HSP may partner with the companies of KRP to seek more business opportunities. 

KRP is very much related to Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto City, and Kyoto Chamber of Commerce as HSP to Hsinchu County Government and some research institutions, like ITRI.  HSP and KRP’s cooperation will form and strengthen a web of collaboration.  Moreover, both HSP and KRP are the most active members of Asia Science Park Association (ASPA) and the International Association of Science Parks (IASP) and have been closely interacting with each other for a long period of time. 

HSP and KRP’s cooperation MOU is actually an extension of their rock steady relationship to corporate and industrial cooperation that is beneficial to both sides. (August 2014)
/CCS