On July 10 STPI co-hosted the 4^th Asian Innovation Forum (AIF) with long-time partner KISTEP at the Grand Hotel in Taipei.  The 4^th AIF attracted more than 160 local and foreign experts to explore possibilities to facilitate S&T development through innovation across the Asian region.

After joined the Asian STI Think Tanks Network (ASTN) and participated in the 3^rd AIF in 2017, STPI strived to host the 4^th AIF outside Korea for the first time. This year, 33 experts from the ASTN member institutes in 11 countries joined the AIF in Taipei and shared their experiences in innovation in respective countries.

The Forum began with an opening address by Minister Chen Liang-gee (Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan), and welcoming speeches by Director General Joung Yuh-jzer of STPI and Senior Research Fellow Se-in Park of KISTEP.  During the morning and afternoon keynote sessions, Professor Patarapong Intarakumnerd (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan (GRIPS)) and Director Laoucine Kerbache (Director, Policy Strategy & Planning, Qatar Foundation Research Dvelopment & Innovation (QF RDI)) delivered the keynote speech.

Discussions were followed with the themes of national innovation strategies in S&T, emerging technologies and communication in S&T, effective ways of implementing S&T policies and so forth.

AIF, an annual international conference organized by KISTEP since 2015, has grown as a platform to share the issues Asian countries encounter in common, and to explore ways to develop through science, technology and innovation.  The member institutes of ASTN launched in 2015 during the inaugural Asian Innovation Forum, are key contributors and participants in the forum.  As of this year there are 24 member institutes in 13 countries in the Network.