The Office of Research and Development, originally known as the Service Center for Engineering Consultation, was renamed as the Tamkang Integrated Research Center in August 1988, as an outcome of the University's administrative innovation. The Center then included two sections: the Administration Assistance Section and the Technical Development Section.
In September 1998, Cham Pion Incubator Center for Medium/Small Enterprises was merged with the Center and ranked together as a unit at the second administrative level. In August 1999, the Center was adjusted to the first administrative level. In August 2001, Tamkang Integrated Research Center was renamed as the Office of Research and Development to be commensurate with its functions - to promote the academic research and the industry-academia cooperation of the University.
Tamkang University was the first to establish different attributes of research centers in each faculty and administrative unit since 1998. Those research centers are beneficial for professors when seeking for external research projects, which can enhance the atmosphere for research in the campus. In 2005, the University went through a restructure, 11 research centers, which were originally belong to each faculty and administrative unit (including Resource Center for Visual Impaired Students, Center for Information Application, Center for Chinese Studies, Life Science Development Center, Water Resource Management and Policy Research Center, Wind Engineering Research Center, Industry and Finance Research Center, Statistic and Survey Research Center, Globalization and Cultural Difference Research Center, European Union Research Center, Technology and Operation Development Center), were reorganized to became part of the Office of Research and Development. The reorganization is the best proof that the Office of Research and Development has extensive research capability.
In order to integrate and make effective use of the resources, the 128th administration meeting in 2012 passed the “Tamkang University research center establishment and management regulation” to identify the independent operation method and the evaluation mechanism for the research centers. The Office of Research and Development expects to effectively manage all the research centers through incentive and penalty.
To respond the organization restructuring of the University in August 2014, the Office of Research and Development has adjusted from an administrative unit to an academic unit. Meanwhile, the Office evaluated all the 22 research centers, and established withdrawal mechanism for those who fail to get research funding and hold any event. The regulation started to implement after being approved at the 139th administration meeting in November 2014, and the types and attributes of all the research centers had been confirmed.
Tamkang University’s long contribution on a foresighted field is based on both industrial and research discipline. With abundant industry-academia cooperation experiences, along with various instrumentations and inspection equipment in the College of Science and the College of Engineering, Tamkang University is provided with strong and rich research environment, which can support the determination and corroboration of the research finding of related products in the industry, in turn shorten the process of research and lead to mass production of the products. Furthermore, with the marketing and cultural creative expertise from the College of Business and Management and the College of Liberal Arts, the products can be commercialized successfully and gain favor from target consumers, and speed time to market.
To complete the talent review in campus, Tamkang University established research discipline base on each feature research center at school and college level, which include Resource Center for Visual Impaired Students, Wind Engineering Research Center, Research Development Center of Construction Law, Intelligent Automation and Robotics Center, Transportation and Logistics Research Center, Centre for Murakami Haruki Studies, Water Environment and Resource Research Center, Ocean and Underwater Technology Research Center, Integration Strategy and Technology Research Center and Publishing Center. Also, the University established Cham Pion Incubator Center for Medium/Small Enterprises to improve the industry-academia cooperation by different strategies and provide support for industry-academia and solicitation.
Moreover, through biomedical material, robotics, and Artificial Intelligence industry and academic discipline clusters, Tamkang University builds an industry, academia and research cooperation platform that connect with domestic and global market and provides industries with talents and scientific research services.
Tamkang University implements the Ministry of Science and Technology’s project, Global Research & Industry Alliance, and forms alliances with National Tsing Hua University, National Cheng Chi University, Fu Jen Catholic University, and Feng Chia University. Through the integration and complementary of the advanced studies from each school, the alliance established technical team in order to promote industrial-demand-oriented cooperation between industry and academia. The Alliance has been committed together with enterprises in the research and development of foresighted technology, to boost the industrialization of the scientific research findings. They also cooperate and communicate to enhance industry-academia projects, patent maintenance, technique transfer, high-level talents cultivation, and the consulting and fundraising for startup teams, etc. Tamkang University connects with the resources from schools in “Excellent Long-Established University Consortium of Taiwan”, to effectively promote industry and academia cooperation together.
The Office of Research and Development provides service and support for the application, contract-signing, and the promotion of full-time faculty's research projects, together with the application of intellectual property rights, the technique transfer, and the application for subsidies and incentives from the Ministry of Science and Technology, and other related services.
The Office of Research and Development provides special professional managers to encourage and support teachers in business related to application and maintenance. The office also promotes industrial-demand-oriented cooperation between industry and academia, connects with enterprises in the research and development of foresighted technology to boost the industrialization of the scientific research findings; emphasizes technical highlights, and hold matchmaking for research findings, to promote technique transfer, and hope to increase new products and technique.