HIC Taiwan 2026 Conference : A Day of Science, Stories, and Serious Brain Fuel

The Hyper Interdisciplinary Conference Taiwan 2026 officially made its Taiwan debut this year, where Taiwan-Japan collaboration in science and technology for a sustainable society took center stage, co-hosted by Leave a Nest Co., Ltd. and NTU IOB. This event brought together a seriously interdisciplinary crowd: academia, industry, and people who somehow manage to do both without collapsing!

Keynote Speech: Dr. Liu’s “full-circle” story

The day opened with our keynote speaker, Director and Professor Liu (NTU-IOB), and it wasn’t your standard academic talk.

He walked us through his journey from being a student at the University of Tokyo, to navigating the chaos and beauty of early research life, to eventually becoming an Assistant Professor and now Director at NTU IOB. It was such a realistic timeline of confusion, growth, and occasional survival mode.

What stood out most was how openly he spoke about:

• struggling as a young student researcher

• figuring out how to survive academia without a manual

• slowly building an identity as a scientist across institutions and countries

But the real thread tying everything together was his idea of interdisciplinarity as a way of life, not just a buzzword. “Science, people, sustainability”: he framed them as a system that only works when all three interact properly.

Honestly, the strongest part of his talk was when he emphasized giving back to society. It was such a nice reminder that research doesn’t end at publications. That mindset felt like the actual backbone of everything he’s built.

MoU signing

The speech was followed by the MoU signing between NTU IOB Director Liu and Dr. Shuichiro Takahashi, Representative Director and COO of Leave a Nest Co., Ltd.

It was a symbolic and important moment formalizing collaboration between academic research and real-world innovation pathways. Less ceremony, more “this is how ideas leave the lab”. And yes, I took the photos from the front-row.

90-sec HIC splash (aka speed-running science)

Then came the 90-second interdisciplinary “splash” talks.

Very chaotic, very fun, but extremely stressful if you were presenting.

From our lab, Yi Hua talked about PBAT plastic degradation using P. lilacinum cutinase, while Chih-Yun talked about reducing N₂O emissions in peanuts using Bradyrhizobium strains.

Short, sharp, slightly terrifying timing, but very effective for cutting through academic over-explaining. Just straight-up: “this is what I do, bye.”

Poster session one

Poster sessions are one of my favorite moments in a conference (of course, it comes after a nice lunch).

Lots of ideas, lots of random niche conversations, lots of photos being taken.

One of my personal favorites: oral lozenges as a toothpaste substitute and even potentially usable in space !!

So yes. Toothpaste might have competition. Dentists might or might not be excited. The jury is still out.

Lunch break = scientifically validated happiness period

No further comment required.

Afternoon panels

Session 1: Local communication & resilience

Speakers:

• Devin Wu Zongye

• Dr. Takeshi Mizumoto

• Jenny Tzen-Ying

This one was surprisingly grounded. The core idea felt like: resilience isn’t built in emergencies, it’s built in how people communicate before things break. I loved how the panelists talked about how urban and non-urban areas in Taipei were built keeping in mind the local population and how it can be implemented in developing worlds.

Session 2: Education, biodiversity, monodzukuri

Speakers:

• Sammy Chen

• Phaedra Fang

• Kuowei Cheng

This one was more “zoom out and rethink everything”. Education systems, biodiversity, manufacturing thinking, all mixed together in a way that got me into thinking more about why this discussion was really needed.

Also, yes, there is still unresolved emotional damage from the fact that Dr. Kihoko Tokue did not finish her cuckoo story during the intermission. That storyline is now permanently open-ended in my brain.

Poster session two and closing ceremony

The second poster session featured our lab’s PhD student Yusril, who presented on how photosynthetic bacteria can help reduce methane emissions in rice fields. It was also another great opportunity to talk to many researchers and exchange ideas in a very informal way.

The conference ended with an Outstanding Poster Presenter award going to a researcher working on mould control in extremely humid environments like Taiwan. I found it so very relevant and practical (fellow victim of mould here) !

And of course: tea and snacks to close it out properly.

Unexpected highlight: meeting Mr. Kuowei Cheng

One of the most unexpected moments was meeting one of our panelists, Mr. Kuowei Cheng (PanMedia), an extremely well-known science YouTuber from Taiwan. Yes, we documented it like fangirls (and fanboys), but of course, scientifically.

Zooming out, we were really grateful to be there, thanks to Prof. Liu for creating a space where science doesn’t feel isolated, but is actively connected to people, society, and future systems that matter. It’s one of those events where you actually see how interconnected everything is! Research, industry, communication, and people just trying to building something that makes an impact.

By Roy