Taiwanese delegation calls for redesign, repair, recycle of electronics to reduce e-waste - The HinduPublished - August 22, 2026 08:02 pm IST - GUNTURA delegation of professors from Asia University in Taiwan during a visit to Vignan University in Guntur district. | Photo Credit: T. Vijaya KumarRedesigning electronic products for easy repair, increasing their durability, and strengthening recycling incentives can help India turn growing e-waste into valuable resources, businesses and jobs, said Prof. Lin Chun-Wei, Chair Professor and Dean of Academic Affairs and International Affairs at Asia University, Taiwan.Prof. Lin, who was part of a four-member Asia University delegation that visited Vignan University in Guntur last week for an MoU, speaking to The Hindu, suggested adopting a circular-economy approach to address India’s growing electronic, industrial, and plastic waste. Products should be designed for repairability and modularity so that devices can be maintained instead of discarded, while longer product lifecycles could reduce waste. He also advocated improved recycling technologies to recover valuable metals such as gold and silver, along with consumer incentives such as store take-back programmes and refunds.He said India’s strengths in physics and chemistry could complement Taiwan’s practical experience in e-waste processing, helping develop better recycling and material-recovery methods and creating employment opportunities. Prof. Lin said cooperation between the two universities could also extend to bioinformatics, hospitals, genomic studies, and cloud computing.On semiconductors, Dr. Ying-Rong Ho, Assistant Professor in the Department of Semiconductor, said Indian students needed both theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience in semiconductor devices, fabrication, packaging and testing. Training in AI, data analysis and simulation, along with communication, teamwork and English skills, would help build an industry-ready workforce. He identified solar technology as having strong potential in India because of its abundant sunlight and clean-energy needs, while AI- and IoT-enabled sensors could offer wider applications.Prof. Dr. Ching-Hsien Hsu, Dean of the College of Information and Electrical Engineering, said cloud and edge AI could reduce latency and bandwidth costs, making digital services faster and more affordable in rural areas. Prof. Dr. Charles C.N. Wang, Dean of the Office of Industry–Academia Collaboration, proposed cooperation in bioinformatics, precision medicine and smart healthcare to enable earlier disease detection and more personalised treatment.Published - August 22, 2026 08:02 pm ISTSign in to unlock member-only benefits!Access 10 free stories every monthSave stories to read laterAccess to comment on every storySign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single clickGet notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products${ ind + 1 } ${ device }Last active - ${ la }