Defing the VET Policy Instruments for Developing the National Innovation System of Fuel Cell Technologies

Abstract

Fuel cells have emerged as one of the possible solutions for resolving the severe pollutions and petroleum consumptions by traditional vehicles. During the past decades, national governments worked aggressively toward the fuel cell innovations by national innovation systems (NISs). Albeit the universities play an important role in the NIS and the vocational education and training (VET) usually serve as an important sub-system, very few scholars tried to discuss how the VET system can be configured through the VET policy instruments so that the NIS can be enabled. Thus, the authors aim to configure the VET policy portfolio by defining a hybrid multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) framework aiming at resolving this problem. Components of the NIS as well as VET policy tools which are suitable for developing the VET system and enabling the NIS were first derived from literature review as criteria and alternatives. Then, a hybrid MADM (Multiple Attribute Decision Making) framework consisting of the modified Delphi method, the DEMATEL and the ANP will be introduced for deriving appropriate VET policy tools for developing the VET system and enable the NIS of the fuel cell technologies. Experts from Taiwanese research and academic institutes were invited for providing opinions for defining the VET policy instruments. Mandates, capacity building and system change were recognized by the experts as the most important VET policy tools for enabling the NIS of the fuel cell technologies from the aspects of firms' R&D organizations, research institutes and research association.