By Ikemefuna Ikem
The Taiwanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Andy Yih-Ping Liu, has pledged his country's collaboration with the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Power and Energy Development (ACE-SPED), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
Yih-Ping Liu made the pledge over the weekend in UNN in a remark while inspecting facilities at ACE-SPED to explore strategic collaboration opportunities with the centre.
Some of the facilities inspected during the tour at ACE-SPED include; SEM Laboratory, the 3D Innovation Laboratory, the Centre of Competence for Digital Education and Content Creation Studio.
Our correspondent reports that the Ambassador who was on a two-day visit to the UNN was led to the centre by the Vice-Chancellor of UNN, Prof. Simon Ortuanya.
The ambassador expressed satisfaction that the centre had laboratories that are multi-disciplinary that can serve a broad range of research, development and innovation, both in academia and the industries around.
"Taiwan will collaborate with the centre especially in high-tech electronics, biomedical engineering product development, nurturing startups and incubation as well as commercialisation of research work done in the centre.
"I will lead a scholarly delegation from Taiwan to UNN to further fine-tune areas of the collaboration," he said.
He expressed delight in UNN's approach to international cooperation and the prospects of long-term partnerships that would benefit students, researchers, and staff in addressing shared development challenges.
"I am delighted that UNN is taking the lead to attend Smart-City Summit and Expo event in Taiwan I have no doubt it will foster more partnerships with Taiwan both in academia and industry," he said.
At ACE-SPED, the Director, Prof Emenike Ejiogu, showcased the Centre’s advanced research infrastructure and innovation capacity, providing a platform for discussions on joint research projects, academic exchange programmes, and institutional development between UNN and Taiwanese institutions.
Ejiogu informed the Ambassador that the centre had been invited to participate in the Smart-City Summit and Expo, in Taipei, scheduled to be held on March 17 to 20th, 2026.
"We would be delighted to collaborate with Taiwan in areas of high-tech electronics, biomedical engineering product development, nurturing startups and incubation as well as in commercialising of research work done in the centre, among others," Ejiogu said.
The director, applauded Prof Simeon Ortuanya for his special attention to the centre.
"We thank the VC who made the visit possible which has given the centre an opportunity to showcase the capacity and quality of its programmes, research and innovations in the centre," he said.
Earlier, Ortuanya described the visit as part of UNN’s broader vision to deepen international research and innovation partnerships and position the University as a leading hub for policy-relevant research and innovation in Africa.
According to him, collaboration with Taiwanese institutions will extend beyond security studies to include engineering, technology, agriculture, and other strategic areas.
“Our goal is to use the University of Nigeria as a base for spreading a mutually-beneficial relationship between African universities and Taiwanese institutions,” the Vice-Chancellor said.
“We will also establish a Centre for African Studies in Taiwan so that the world will know what we are doing,” he added.
It would be recalled that the ambassador’s visit builds on discussions held during Ortuanya’s official visit to Taiwan in October 2025 and aligns with UNN’s plan to establish an International Centre for African and Taiwan Studies aimed at promoting education, research, innovation, business development, and cross-regional collaboration.
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