March 12 marks one year since the opening of Taiwan – Baltic States joint research center. It was the last big face-to-face event that took place at the ISSP UL before the global Covid-19 pandemic caught the world off guard and the countries one by one closed the borders and declared the states of emergency. The opening was attended by high-level representatives from National Sun Yat-Sen University (NSYSU), the Taipei Mission in the Republic of Latvia, the Parliament of Latvia, ministries, University of Latvia and ISSP UL.
The center was not opened in an empty space. The long-term successful scientific cooperation between the NSYSU and ISSP UL had led to the idea of establishing a joint research center to ensure even closer cooperation not only in the elaboration of research projects but also in the exchange and acquisition of complementary knowledge, know-how and skills. The first year, of course, was planned different – full of business trips and conferences to nurture this new cooperation.
Nevertheless, during the first 12 months, the research never stopped and through collaboration, the first research article “Anisotropic photoluminescence of nonpolar ZnO epilayers and ZnO/Zn1-xMgxO multiple quantum wells grown on LiGaO2 substrate” has been published in an open-access journal Optics Express. Vol. 28, issue 4, (2020).
Hoping for the pandemic situation to stabilize, plans are being made for the future. Now a Latvia-Lithuania-Taiwan scientific collaboration project has been announced, through which new international contacts will be made in order to achieve joint goals. At the end of April, anyone with an interest in the latest research by both ISSP UL and NSYSU scientists will have an opportunity to connect to a webinar. It is good to have all the technology to connect to the world with such an ease!
Video from the opening ceremony https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N95-6T3rIkE
