Young scientific talent from Europe is being targeted by the National Science Council (NSC), which for the first time will sponsor French graduate and doctoral students through an internship program in Taiwan this summer.
NSC Minister Wu Maw-kuen (吳茂昆) told the Taipei Times yesterday that budding scientific talent from other "advanced European countries" will be offered similar opportunities in later years.
Starting on Monday, 17 French graduate and doctoral students, whose professional background ranges from bioscience to communications, will begin a process of orientation at the National Central University in Chungli (中壢), Taoyuan County. Receiving a NT$50,000 stipend for the two-month summer internship program, each student will be assigned to advanced laboratories at Academia Sinica and leading universities including National Taiwan University, National Tsing Hua University, National Chiao Tung University and National Sun Yat-sen University.
In the last two decades, scientific cooperation between Taiwan and France has grown closer through exchange programs designed for established scientists and senior students.
"After being stimulated by different approaches to scientific research brought by European students, some Taiwanese students have chosen to pursue their higher degrees in European countries," Wu said.
Wu said that Taiwan's scientific community has built a close relationship with its US counterpart, whose students have been offered similar summer internship programs in Taiwan for years.
But Wu said that because students in most "advanced" European countries are required to gain internship experience before graduation, Taiwan's offer of summer international programs might result in good future relations with European scientific communities.
According to Liu Kuang-neng (劉光能), director of the French department at National Central University and the group's orientation organizer, some of the visiting French students had never thought of Taiwan until their professors recommended the program.
"The orientation is designed for French students to experience Taiwanese culture and learn basic ideas about Taiwan's social and political situation," Liu told the Taipei Times.
Liu said that National Central University's location in Taoyuan County made it an ideal place for foreign students to experience the nation's cultural diversity.
Liu said that Taiwan had been influenced by the US for "too long" and that different thinking from Europe might provide good stimulation for creative local researchers.
Several important memorandums of understanding between Taiwan and major research organizations such as the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and the Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique remain in effect.
Since 1999, the France-Taiwan Science Award has been presented to outstanding scientists working for the promotion of France-Taiwan cooperation.
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