During the last 20 years, the scientific cooperation between France and Taiwan has been growing closer. It now has two main objectives -- scientific exchanges and promotion of higher education. Several important "memorandum of understanding" have been signed or renewed recently, such as CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) and INRIA (Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique). Since 1999, an award had been proposed by the "Academie des Sciences" in Paris, to candidates working for the promotion of France-Taiwan cooperation. With the National Science Council, our first partner in the scientific programs, and with Academia Sinica and EPA (Environment Protection Administration), we have organized this year, more than 70 exchanges within the framework of exploratory missions, one to three months invitations of the senior scientists (7), and participation to seminars (6) organized both in France and in Taiwan. For the higher education program, three kinds of actions have been set up by IFT.
First, the annual visit of eight professors in order to promote our best universities and research organisms such as CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Institut Pasteur, INSERM (Institut de Recherche Medicale). The same number of Taiwanese professors from the more prestigious universities are invited in France to visit our academic institutions. Second, in education, the cooperation has been organized through three kinds of scholarships. The first ones are totally financed by the French government (6 in progress and 3 new ones).
Since this year and with a big success, the 10 others have been co-financed with five well-known Taiwanese universities and Academia Sinica. The activities include programs in joint PhD, elaborated between two laboratories. Professional education has been organized in aeronautic, in collaboration with the Institut d'Aeronautique et de l'Espace (IAS), CASID and the Ministry of Education. Four candidates are chosen annually by a mixed committee. Thirdly, in March IFT was a co-organizer of the successful, "First European Higher Education Fair," held with the partnership of Edufrance, a French organization in charge of the promotion of the education in France.
Cooperation in life science -- five fields are implicated in Taiwan, immunology, marine biology, genetic, botanic, pharmacology.
In immunology, a collaboration has been organized by Dr Bertrand Jordan, ten years ago. He has initiated several workshops with the Institute of Molecular Biology (Academia Sinica). This year, he has been invited as member of the scientific board of the "Genome Program."
An important collaboration in animal genomic and plant biotechnology, in order to improve the local species have been set up between the Taiwan Livestock Research Institute and INRA (Institut de Recherche Agronomique) and CIRAD (Centre de Cooperation International en Recherche Agronomique pour le developpement).
Earth Science is one of the priorities of the French cooperation, due to the exceptional situation of Taiwan and the consequences of earthquakes both in the populations and in economy. The exchanges had been initiated by Pr Jacques Angelier (Paris 6), who is implicated in several scientific programs both with Academia Sinica and the universities of National Taiwan and Chong Li. An interesting seminar was organized in May 2000 in Taiwan, on the subject "The natural risks." A second edition in France is planned in 2003.
Math, computer science
Since 1981, a first pole of cooperation had been organized with NSC, Academia Sinica and Tsinghua university. Oriented at the beginning in the field of fundamental mathematics, this cooperation gradually focused toward mathematics applicated to computer science.
In 2002, in an effort to improve the mathematic exchanges two senior scientists entered into bilateral exchanges. Their one month stay for a PhD scholarship focused on the field of numerization. The MOU on computer science signed recently will facilitate more exchanges especially with INRIA.
Chemistry
Initiated in 1982, this cooperation was initially associated with the Academia Sinica and Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg. In 2002, a program about the cell membrane structure is supported through a three years exchange of senior scientists and a PhD scholarship.
Environment
The high possibilities in France about the methods and technics in both waste treatment and detection of pollution, impulse a growing development of the collaboration with EPA. This year two French experts from the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Health, were invited in the international seminar "Health and Environment."
Perspectives
"How to promote the best exchanges with a balanced partnership where the common interests are respected?" The main scientific programs where France and Taiwan have the most common interests seemed as following: genomics, nanotechnology, environment.
"What will be the scientific exchanges in the imminent future?" In the field of genomics, a delegation of six scientists implicated in different specialties of the genomic network of the French program will travel to France early November. This mission will be conducted by Dr Bertrand Jordan and include the director of the French genopole, Dr Pierre Tambourin, former director of Life Science in CNRS. A mission of three experts from Institut Pasteur Paris has been sent to Taiwan in order to find common projects around the genomic of infectious diseases. In nanotechnology, a seminar will be set up at the end 2002, in Taipei. A seminar about "substainable development" will be organized by Academia Sinica and the "Museum National d'Histoires Naturelles, Paris.
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