On 10 March 2020, NSTDA President Dr. Narong Sirilertworakul and Chulalongkorn University President Prof. Dr. Bundhit Eua-arporn announced the collaboration on Innovation and Technology Assistance Program (ITAP). ITAP is NSTDA’s initiative to promote R&D and the adoption of advanced technologies to enhance the competitiveness of Thai SMEs. Assistance is provided in the forms of experts, R&D management and financial support.
Under this agreement, Chula Unisearch, an academic service center of Chulalongkorn University, will serve as a network of ITAP, enabling ITAP to tap a massive pool of experts in the university covering a wide range of scientific disciplines. The partnership is a mechanism for university faculty members to develop demand-driven innovations and provide innovative solutions to industry, with the goal of enhancing competitiveness of Thai SMEs and setting Thailand on the path of becoming a knowledge-based economy. The agreement aims to serve at least 30 SMEs a year in the next three years.
Since its inception in 1993, ITAP has sponsored over 10,000 SMEs and has over 1,500 experts in its network. The cabinet has approved the program’s expansion plan, increasing its output from 400 SMEs per year to 2,000 SMEs per year between 2016-2020. For additional information on ITAP, please visit: https://itap.nstda.or.th/en/.