The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) and the German Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) are jointly soliciting proposals to enhance academic collaboration between Taiwanese and German researchers in semiconductor technology, aiming to cultivate chip design, hardware and software system integration capabilities, and foster talent with a global perspective.

The aforementioned programme will have a two-stage application process:

I. Stage 1: submission of a pre-proposal.

II. Stage 2: submission of a full proposal (only if the pre-proposal is invited to participate in stage 2)

The programme duration is three years in principle, with implementation expected to begin on 1 July 2026.

The funding allocation is as follows: the NSTC will subsidise the selected Taiwanese teams, with an annual budget of approximately NT$2 million per project.  During the implementation period, each project must annually send doctoral students to Germany for off-site research, organize bilateral seminars related to the research project, and facilitate mutual visits among project researchers. The required funds may be proposed within the project budget.

The areas of key co-operation themes include the following:

I. Open and disruptive EDA/Test/Verification tools.

II. Chip design for Edge-AI and emerging applications.

III. Advanced system integration and novel interconnects.

Interested applicants shall read through the NSTC regulations on NSTC’s website (https://www.nstc.gov.tw/), and follow the steps below:

1. Complete the online application on NSTC's website.

2. Download the “NTU Application Form for NSTC Grant for the International Cooperative Project.”

3. Once the principal investigator, the head and dean of the executive department/institute have affixed their signatures or seals, please email the completed form to the Division of Research Project Affairs (RPA).

The deadline for submission is by 17:00, on Friday, September 26, 2025. 

Please synchronize your online application with the NSTC system before the deadline to allow the university to compile and send submissions to NSTC as scheduled.

The NSTC and the BMFTR will hold an online briefing session on Thursday, July 24, 2025, to explain the cooperation themes, subsidy contents, and application procedures for this call for proposals. The online meeting URL will be announced on the NSTC’s website.

Contact Person for RPA regarding the project: Ms. Ya-Yin Liu

Phone number: (02) 3366-6309

Email: yayinliu@ntu.edu.tw