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National Central University (NCU) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom, forming a new partnership in space science and technology. The collaboration will involve sharing space radiation data, co-designing next-generation measurement instruments, and developing resilient space infrastructure. Through this initiative, both universities aim to provide students with hands-on experience in real space missions and hardware development, strengthening their professional capabilities while addressing the global talent shortage in the space industry.
This partnership builds upon a series of successful exchanges between the two institutions. Earlier this year, Prof. Loren Cheewei Chang of NCU joined the Taiwan delegation to visit Guildford—the town where the University of Surrey is located. In addition, students from both universities collaborated this summer at the Etlaq Spaceport in Oman with Stellar Kinetics, successfully integrating the Jovian-O and SIGHT payloads aboard the KEA-1 rocket—an achievement that demonstrated the students’ autonomous research and development capabilities.
As Taiwan’s space industry rapidly expands—with the Taiwan Space Agency aiming to achieve a NT$1-trillion space economy by 2029—NCU and the University of Surrey are planning joint career-training programs and degree pathways to cultivate the talent required by the global space sector. The British Office Taipei also supported the collaboration through its Strategic Partnership Fund. In the coming months, both sides will continue mutual visits to advance and implement the planned initiatives.
