NSERC-NSTC Call on Semiconductors and Artificial Intelligence

NSERC-NSTC Semiconductors and AI Call

Funds Taiwanese semiconductor and AI teams through national research support for cross-sector innovation.

Eligibility · Canada, Taiwan

The NSERC-NSTC Semiconductors and Artificial Intelligence Call is a bilateral research grant co-funded by Canada's Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), reflecting the two countries' long-standing cooperation in science, technology, and innovation. The call targets collaborative academic research at the intersection of semiconductors and AI in three defined areas: embedding AI across chip design, manufacturing, and packaging (including edge-AI chip design, electronic design automation, and advanced packaging); compound semiconductors that can enable energy-efficient AI hardware; and AI integration into MEMS sensors. The programme is structured around leveraging Canada's AI research strengths alongside Taiwan's semiconductor manufacturing expertise to co-develop solutions relevant to global supply-chain resilience and responsible AI.

Each agency funds its own national researchers: NSERC provides up to CAN$225,000 per project over three years (approximately CAN$75,000 per year), with total NSERC pool funding of up to CAN$1 million supporting an estimated four awards; NSTC funds Taiwan-based collaborators on equivalent terms. The call is academic-only — industry, public-sector, and not-for-profit non-academic partners are excluded. Canadian university researchers eligible for NSERC funding must team with at least one NSTC-eligible academic collaborator from Taiwan. The application process is two-stage: a Letter of Intent due March 25, 2026 (8 pm ET), followed by a full proposal by invitation only due July 30, 2026. Every named researcher must submit a STRAC attestation form under Canada's sensitive technology research security policy.

A competitive proposal must demonstrate genuine complementarity between the Canadian and Taiwanese research teams — not parallel work but integrated collaboration — with a training plan for research trainees on both sides and a balanced budget in which neither agency contributes more than 75% of total project costs. Equipment costs are capped at 30% of the Canadian budget. Proposals will be evaluated on relevance to the call's semiconductor-AI themes, added value of the Canada-Taiwan collaboration, trainee development, equity-diversity-inclusion, and scientific quality. Non-NSE collaborator costs are capped at 30% of project costs.