A 33 percent drop in the number of doctoral students in technology over the past decades does not bode well for the domestic research environment, Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) said yesterday.
Chen made the remarks at a one-day science development strategy conference in Taipei, which was convened by the Ministry of Science and Technology to collect opinions from experts from varied disciplines and an advisory board formed to review its policies about basic research and talent cultivation.
Aside from Chen, the 34-member board includes Academia Sinica President James Liao (廖俊智), former Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) and academicians, as well as university presidents and professors.
Photo: CNA
Over the past three months, the ministry has drawn heated criticism from Academia Sinica and dozens of academic groups for its emphasis on industrial projects, such as artificial intelligence technology, while cutting funding for basic research and postdoctoral researchers.
Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said a number of academics had visited him to share their opinions and he had relayed them to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
The government would certainly devote sufficient resources to support basic research, but funding should also be spent on critical areas, he said in his opening address at the conference.
The ministry has not cut the budget for basic research, but their results often receive less media coverage and are less known to the public because some of them are not that accessible, Chen Liang-gee said.
The decline in the number of young researchers is a serious crisis for the nation, with some doctoral programs experiencing difficulty recruiting students, he said.
About one-third of the nation’s researchers would be retiring in 10 years and this could be the best time for young people to apply for doctoral programs, Liao said.
Tasked with promoting technological development, supporting academic research and operating science parks, the ministry should take gradual steps if it is to promote industry-oriented research, he said.
Academia should also pay more attention to training doctoral students, instead of treating them as “thesis machines,” he said, advising the ministry to set up separate doctoral training grants.
While the conference was not open to the media, its conclusions would be released later, the ministry said.
The ministry would present the conclusions to the Executive Yuan, Chen Liang-gee said, adding that feasible suggestions would be implemented as soon as possible.
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