The Southern Taiwan Alliance of Researchers and Scholars (STARS), commissioned to MIRDC by Department of Industrial Technologies of MOFA in 2010, aims to leverage the capacities of Taiwan’s R&D institutions to assist traditional industries in upgrading their international competitiveness through innovation and value creation. This year, STARS focuses its efforts on 14 industries that have been identified as significantly vulnerable after the signing of ECFA. R&D alliances and programs under STARS will be established accordingly to acquire key technologies or develop high value-added products, thereby building up momentum for technological developments, upgrades and transformations, all of which will eventually lead to improvements in industrial competiveness. Major STARS participating agencies include MIRDC, ITRI, Taiwan Textile Research Institute, Plastics Industry Development Center, Printing Technology Research Institute, and Footwear & Recreation Technology Research Institute, among others, and they have been working with the 14 target industries on mitigating ECFA impacts by jointly establishing Industry-cluster R&D Alliances in the following areas of specialty - badminton, plastic tableware, frozen aquaculture products and feeds, Chinese medicinal herbs, and wood, canes and bamboos - with the aim of transforming these traditional industries into clusters of innovation.