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NCKU Equipment Center Provides Single Access Window for Shared Equipment and Instruments As Well As Repairs and Maintenance Services
Shu-Hui Chen
Director and Professor, Equipment Center, Office of
Research and Development
Website：http://www.ncku.edu.tw/%7Efacility/idc2/
Good tools are essential to the
success of all jobs. Research and innovations also rely
on state-of-the-art and functional equipment and instruments.
NCKU, being a leading research university Taiwan, has been pursuing
advanced and precision equipment and instruments in support of high
quality research. Currently, many kinds of equipment and
instruments are installed in various parts of the campus. Some
are installed in core facility centers such as Center for Micro/Nano
Science and Technology, Center of Bioscience and Biotechnology, and
the NSC Expensive Equipment Center. Many more are installed in
laboratories of individual faculty members.
Without an
easy access to the availability and functionality of these advanced
equipment and instruments, sometimes, precious research funds were
used to buy the same equipment and instruments that are already
available on campus. Some researchers, without knowing the
availability of equipment and instruments they need, end up not
being able to implement their research effectively. On the
other hand, the maintenance and repairs for equipment and
instruments are so expensive that it sometimes becomes hardly
affordable by individual faculty members. As a result, the
functions for some modern equipment and instruments fail to be fully
realized.
In order to promote the usage of
available equipment and instruments and elevate the research
capacity, the Center establishes the NCKU Joint Shared Facility
Center as a single access window. When fully implemented,
researchers can find the availability and relevant information about
equipment and instruments that are available for them to use.
Currently, a number of equipment and instruments are listed in
various categories. Those who have equipment and instruments
that can be shared are welcome to apply for being listed on the
website.
At the beginning of the operation of the Joint
Shared Facility Center, all equipment and instruments acquired based
on the 5Y50B special fund from the Ministry of Education are
required to be listed under the Joint Shared Facility Management
System. Users can make reservation for accessing them on
the basis of sharing the costs by paying usage fees. For
equipment and instruments being managed by core facility centers,
user fees can be paid to core facility centers directly. For
other equipment and instruments, the Management System for the
Equipment Center will collect user fees. 20% of the user fees
will be allocated for supporting the daily operation of the Joint
Facility Center. The remaining 80% will be kept in separate
sub-accounts for future needs for repairs and maintenance of
equipment and instruments. For equipment and instruments
purchased using non-5Y50B funds, PI’s are allowed to apply for
permission to join the shared equipment management system.
Applicants must submit detailed plans for services that equipment
and instruments will provide and the user fee schedules for the
approval by the NCKU Shared Facility Management Committee.
Those who just want to have their equipment and instruments listed
on the website are also welcome to contact us for proper
arrangements.
Before the online operation is in full
operation, some paper work is still needed for the management.
Users can use the website to search for shared facilities and
contact persons in charge of each equipment and instruments for
reservation, filling out billing forms and choose available payment
options for user fees. The Equipment and Instrument Center
provides two payment options: cash and direct fund transfer.
At this moment, only NSC funds can use direct fund transfer.
Other funds must be paid in the form of cash. Detailed
information can be found at the website for the Center.
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