U.S.-ASEAN Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation (STIC) Program

Arizona State University

Arizona State University is the implementing partner for the STIC program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Office of Multilateral Affairs (EAP/MLA). The overarching objectives of this program are: 1) to strengthen and increase national and regional cooperation of ASEAN Member States and the U.S. government on federal, local, private sector, and academic levels and 2) to develop and implement policies to foster science, technology, and innovation through increased funding mechanisms, data sharing, intellectual property generation, commercialization, and academic research partnerships. 

To achieve these outcomes, the STIC Program will feature three annual core activities from September 2022 to 2025.  Each year, 20 senior-level ASEAN officials will embark on a two-week science study tour in Washington, D.C., where they will engage in technical workshops delivered by academic, government, and industry experts. Next, the U.S.-ASEAN STIC Virtual Talent Mobility Portal offers scholarships for online study in three separate tracks: Science and Technology, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and STI Policy. By 2025, STIC aims to engage 25,000 participants in this component. Finally, the program commences with three-day regional conferences featuring networking opportunities and roundtable discussions for 400 selected applicants. Every year, $100,000 in grants will be awarded across four different research projects and four business ventures through a competitive process. 

Anticipated results include an increase in the number of ASEAN students studying and research in the United States, as well as enhanced science and technology cooperation. STIC hopes that participants will succeed in commercializing their products or services, and receive additional funding from other sources after the completion of the program.  

Rochester Institute of Technology

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Office of Multilateral Affairs (EAP/MLA) is funding a two-year project led by two Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) professors, Clyde Eirikur Hull and Eric Williams, to help the Southeast Asian region establish entrepreneurships based on the circular economy (CE). The $1 million grant will assist the two RIT professors in identifying incubators and other organizations in the region interested in advancing entrepreneurships that employ circular economy practices. The project lead, Professor Clyde Hull, says that “this project, by using sustainability science to identify circular economy opportunities and helping new and existing businesses pursue them, represents a new form of cooperation on science and technology development and R&D between the public and private sector—cooperation that has a strong circular economy focus and is interdisciplinary.”

According to Hull and Williams, the project includes engaging with partners such as business incubators, local universities, and non-governmental organizations in the ASEAN region to gain a deep understanding of local challenges and opportunities. It also analyzes the status of electronic waste in terms of economic opportunity, environmental challenges, and the governing regulatory framework, with a keen focus on opportunities for new technology to replace older, more wasteful practices.

Through the development of circular economy business models and sharing them with local partners, the project aims to both lead the incubation of new CE businesses in local incubators and help existing businesses migrate to circular economy technology and solutions.