TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chang Pei-jen (張培仁) took over as president of the Industrial Technology Research Institute on Monday, pledging to boost Taiwan’s industrial competitiveness through innovation and international partnerships.

ITRI Chair Wu Cheng-chung (吳政忠) and Deputy Economics Minister Ho Chin-tsang (何晉滄) presided over the handover ceremony, per UDN. Ho praised Chang’s expertise in policy and international affairs and thanked former president Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) for advancing industrial upgrading.

Wu highlighted Chang’s ability to turn innovative ideas into actionable strategies and noted his experience leading delegations to the Czech Republic, Finland, Lithuania, and the US. He said that under Chang’s leadership, ITRI will integrate its technological strengths with emerging fields such as AI and robotics, while strengthening academic ties to link basic science with applied research and make research and development a driver of industrial growth.

Chang outlined three priorities for ITRI: consolidating talent and promoting cross-domain collaboration, deepening industrial transformation at home, and expanding global engagement to connect Taiwan’s research with international markets.

He said innovation is key to Taiwan’s industrial development, noting that many local industries face low profit margins. He added that ITRI will coordinate with small and medium-sized enterprises to help them innovate and transform.