(Hsinchu City, Taiwan and New York, NY, USA – March 20, 2018) – The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) and Chung Hua University (CHU) have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) to create ICF’s first Institute for the study of Smart Cities and Intelligent Communities in the Asian region, to be located at Chung Hua University. The signing ceremony took place in Taiwan at CHU in Hsinchu City between John G. Jung, ICF’s Co-Founder and Victor W. Liu, President of CHU. The ceremony was witnessed by CHU professors, students and staff as well as community leaders from several Taiwanese cities, including from Hsinchu City, Hsinchu County and Taoyuan County and several private sector leaders. The signing was followed by a keynote address by ICF’s Chairman entitled “The Intelligent Community Movement”. Mr. LC Chen was awarded with the appointment as Honored Dean of the ICF Institute in Taiwan. Following the ceremonial signing, ICF’s Co-Founder officially opened a new Anime Museum and participated in a banquet hosted by the Hsinchu County Magistrate Chiu.

ICF and CHU have developed an agreement that gives CHU the rights to the ICF brand as the ICF Institute in Taiwan and will meet the following ICF Institute goals:

• To establish a collaborative working group at CHU of municipalities, corporations, local schools, university academia, government agencies, not-for-profits, residents and the ICF.
• To staff the working group with members from Chung Hua University, Hsinchu area communities and across Taiwan and beyond.
• Undertake master classes, conferences, site visits and other educational opportunities that draw communities and leaders from the region, nationally and internationally to learn and see first-hand the ICF movement and its indicators at work.
• Invite national and international communities to be trained at CHU for the purposes of certifying the trained individuals as meeting ICF’s curriculum.
• Work with collaborators, sponsors and partners to help support the activities of the Institute.

The Institute will employ a local, regional and global portfolio. Locally, the Institute will undertake research, evaluation and publication of information and programming as the ICF Institute for the Study of the Intelligent Community. Regionally, the Institute will serve as a regional hub, examine, publish and promote best practices; align community leaders with the goals and opportunities of Intelligent Communities; and teach government officials and instructors, including the opportunity to train the trainers. Globally, the ICF Institute in Taiwan will hold an annual symposium and develop and implement opportunities to educate communities in SE Asia and China. The ICF Institute in Taiwan will collaborate with ICF on a regular basis as well as ICF Taiwan, which was launched last year in Taipei to encourage Taiwanese cities to become Smart21 and Intelligent Communities as well as promote the 14 existing Taiwanese Intelligent Communities abroad to attract investment, trade and talent.

“I am very impressed with Chung Hua University’s passion for the study and teaching of the Intelligent Community. Its departments cover urban planning, engineering, architecture and design, humanities and many other curricula that make it an excellent fit to undertake the implementation of the study for and teaching of the Intelligent Community movement, especially in Asia”, said John G. Jung at the signing ceremony. “Interestingly, the CHU’s proximity to Hinchu Science Park, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and excellent access to Taipei and its International Airport in Taoyuan by High Speed Rail, make the location a perfect place for the collaborative initiatives and programs to take place. It will become a local, regional and international hub for the study, training and promotion of the Intelligent Community movement.”

At welcome remarks Victor W. Liu, President of CHU said “In the past, CHU played a key role as think tanks in assisting the development of smart cities such as Hsinchu County, Taichung City, and Kinmen County. With integration of six colleges in CHU and the endorsement from ICF, the ICF Institute in Taiwan is an industry-academia alliance platform to help cities and communities in the Asian region to promote smart innovation and to introduce technology services to urban and rural areas.”

About Chung Hua University (CHU)
Founded as an Institute of Technology, Chung Hua University is now in 28th year, and the professional development has been inseparable from science parks and the science city of Hsinchu. CHU is the first university in the country that put into effect the universal education of innovation and creation. Students are required not only to study relative courses but also to complete practical projects so that their competitiveness in prospective career may be strengthened by stimulation of creative or innovative thinking. In addition, CHU is the only higher academic institution in Hsinchu and Miaoli counties with College of Architecture and Design as well as College of Tourism. Chung Hua University has been named Excellent Teaching University by the Ministry of Education, featured in England's QS World University Ranking, and ranked among the top 5% of Spain's Web metrics of World Universities. The various engineering disciplines have passed IEET certification, and the School of Management has also passed the AACSB certification. Moreover, the graduates enjoy the triple reputation of high employment rate, high pay and high employer satisfaction.

Contact:
James Yeh, Director of Operations, ICF Institute in Taiwan
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +886-910-279282
Tel: +886-3-5186790
Fax: +886-3-5372832

About Intelligent Community Forum (ICF)
The Intelligent Community Forum is a global network with a think tank at its center. It connects hundreds of cities and regions on five continents for collaboration on economic development and for exchange of expertise and information that drives progress. Through this network, ICF researches how Intelligent Communities use information and communications technology to build inclusive prosperity, solve social problems and enrich their quality of life in our connected century. ICF is headquartered in New York City, is a worldwide organization that is renowned for its efforts recognizing Intelligent Community excellence through its annual awards programs, workshops, conferences and other support. Today there are nearly 170 Intelligent Communities around the world, and growing annually, with Intelligent Community representatives on every continent. The Intelligent Community Forum Foundation (ICFF) is the association of these Intelligent Communities, aimed at working together to share information and develop more Intelligent Communities throughout the world. As ICF’s principles are sought after around the world, there is an opportunity for each country to focus its ICF-related efforts within their region. For more information, visit http://www.intelligentcommunity.org

Contact:
Matthew Owen, Director of Operations, Intelligent Community Forum
Tel. +1 646-291-6166 (x105)
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @Newcommunities