• 2025-09-22

In the afternoon of August 28, 2025, the National Central Library (NCL), in collaboration with the International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF), jointly hosted the second Development Focus Forum. Held in NCL’s Conference Room 301, this year’s forum centered on the theme “Exploring the Global Development of Smart Healthcare,” drawing together experts and scholars from Taiwan and abroad.

The forum aimed to explore global trends in smart healthcare development and to share Taiwan’s practical experiences in implementing smart healthcare initiatives in developing countries. The event was hosted by Deputy Secretary-General Pei-fen Hsieh of the TaiwanICDF and featured a keynote address by Professor Marcelo Corrales Compagnucci of the University of Copenhagen, a recipient of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Taiwan Fellowship. His lecture, titled “Smart Healthcare and International Cooperation,” offered an in-depth analysis of the pivotal role that smart healthcare plays in transforming global health care systems.

This year’s forum featured two main sessions: “From Global Trends to Southern Practices: Key Issues and Strategies in Smart Healthcare” and “From Intelligent Algorithms to a Health Revolution: AI Leading the New Landscape of Digital Medicine.” The panel brought together an impressive lineup of speakers, including Associate Professor Nien-chen Kuo from National Taiwan University, Deputy Superintendent of Shin Kong Hospital Dr. Tzu-jen Hung, Ph.D. candidate at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Tsai-hsuan Chung, and General Manager of Taiwan Advanced Medical Informatics Chao-sheng Huang. These experts shared in-depth insights into technological innovation and practical applications in the field of smart healthcare.

Panel discussants included Dr. Hung-yi Chiu, Director of the National Health Research Institutes; Dr. Ya-wen Chiu, Deputy Director of the same institute; Chih-hung Lee, Deputy Secretary-General of the TaiwanICDF; Hung-tzu Wang, Director at the TaiwanICDF; and Dr. Ching-ting Tan, Deputy Superintendent of the Hsinchu Branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. Together, they explored the opportunities and challenges in the development of smart healthcare, fostering an exchange of perspectives across multiple sectors.

This forum was part of an ongoing collaborative series jointly organized by the National Central Library and the TaiwanICDF. Anchored by the journal Development Focus Quarterly, the series brings together interdisciplinary experts from Taiwan and abroad to examine Taiwan’s role and contributions in the fields of smart healthcare and international cooperation, with the aim of supporting developing countries in strengthening their healthcare systems. 
The event attracted around 80 professionals from industry, government, academia, research institutions, NGOs, and the international community. The discussions were lively and yielded fruitful results. A full video recording of the forum is available to the public on the NCL’s DAVA Video Platform, and interested viewers are invited to watch online.