Falling Walls Lab Taiwan 2026: Innovative Ideas in Three Minutes

Interest in this year’s competition was particularly strong. More than 40 applications were received, from which 20 participants were selected for the final. Nineteen ultimately took part in the competition, representing nine universities, Academia Sinica, and two start-ups.

At Falling Walls Lab, participants have just three minutes to present their research ideas and explain which scientific, technological, or societal “walls” they aim to break down through their work. This year’s contributions reflected the broad range of Taiwan’s research and innovation landscape. Topics ranged from artificial intelligence and medical research to new diagnostic and treatment methods, agriculture, environmental issues, and technological solutions to practical challenges.

The Winners

First place went to Lilian Lin of Pulxion Medical Technology for her presentation “Breaking the Wall of Silent Stroke”. She introduced a method for the rapid and straightforward early detection of an elevated risk of stroke. A camera captures subtle changes in the neck area, which are then analysed using artificial intelligence. The aim is to provide an easily accessible screening method that takes only a few minutes and can help identify potential risks at an early stage, particularly in people without noticeable symptoms.

Second place went to Anjali Thakran of Academia Sinica for her presentation “Breaking the Wall of the Silicon Ceiling”. She presented a new approach to further increasing the efficiency of solar cells. By optimising a material layer, the method aims to reduce energy losses and enable higher performance. The approach builds on existing silicon technology and could be particularly relevant for the development of more efficient tandem solar cells.

Third place was awarded to Yu-Chen Huang of Academia Sinica and National Taiwan University for his presentation “Breaking the Wall of Memory Computation in the Brain”. His research investigates how memory is processed across different regions of the brain during learning. In the long term, the findings could contribute to new principles for more efficient learning and memory systems in artificial intelligence.

Decision by an Interdisciplinary Jury

The winners were selected by an interdisciplinary jury with representatives from academia, research funding, scientific networks, and industry. The jury was chaired by Céline Nauer of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. The other jury members were Dr Jec-Kong Gone, Deputy Director General of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC); Dr Josef Goldberger, Head of the Saxon Science Liaison Office Taiwan; Chee-How Tan, Managing Director of Infineon Technologies Taiwan; Dr Mei-Yu Chang, Deputy Director General of the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute; and Dr Ya-Yu Chiang, Assistant Professor at National Taiwan University.

The assessment focused particularly on the scientific and innovative potential of the presentations as well as their possible impact. The “Breakthrough Factor” accounted for 50 percent of the overall score, “Relevance and Impact” for 40 percent, and “Structure and Performance” for the remaining 10 percent.

Given the high quality of the presentations, the decision was not an easy one for the jury. Josef Goldberger, who has been involved in Falling Walls Lab Taiwan six times and served on the jury for the third time, highlighted the development of the competition in recent years: “Compared to previous years, the quality of the Falling Walls participants has increased significantly. It was very difficult to make a decision among so many high-quality presentations.”

Jury chair Céline Nauer also emphasised the broad range of topics: “The diversity of topics, from AI and semiconductor technology to MedTech and culture, was very inspiring.”

Julian Goldmann of the German Institute Taipei also highlighted the importance of the format for science communication and German-Taiwanese research cooperation: “Falling Walls Lab Taiwan demonstrates year after year just how much outstanding talent and thematic diversity Taiwan’s research landscape has to offer. Particularly important is the ability to communicate complex science in an understandable way. For German-Taiwanese research and scientific cooperation, this dynamic is an excellent sign.”

From Taiwan to Berlin

The first- and second-place winners of Falling Walls Lab Taiwan will represent Taiwan at the Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin from 6 to 9 November 2026. There, they will have the opportunity to present their research to an international audience and exchange ideas with researchers, innovators, and representatives from academia, industry, and politics.

In addition, Lilian Lin and Anjali Thakran will visit TU Dresden for two days at the invitation of the Saxon Science Liaison Office Taiwan. During their stay, they will gain insights into relevant academic departments, have the opportunity to exchange ideas with professors, and also get to know the city of Dresden.

For the DAAD and its partners, Falling Walls Lab offers an opportunity to highlight young scientific talent in Taiwan and create new connections across disciplines and national borders. The format will also continue to provide researchers with a platform to present innovative ideas to an international audience.

Zusätzlich werden Lilian Lin und Anjali Thakran auf Einladung des Saxon Science Liaison Office Taiwan für zwei Tage die Technische Universität Dresden besuchen. Dort erhalten sie Einblicke in relevante Fachbereiche, haben Gelegenheit zum Austausch mit Professorinnen und Professoren und können zugleich die Stadt Dresden kennenlernen.

Für den DAAD und seine Partner bietet das Falling Walls Lab die Gelegenheit, junge wissenschaftliche Talente in Taiwan sichtbar zu machen und neue Verbindungen über Fach- und Ländergrenzen hinweg zu schaffen. Auch künftig soll das Format Forschenden eine Plattform bieten, um innovative Ideen einem internationalen Publikum zu präsentieren.