The Ministry of Education (MOE) drew up a budget of NT$50 billion (US$6 billion) for a five-year period in accordance with the "Top International Universities and Research Center Developing Project" (發展國際一流大學及頂尖研究中心計劃), as part of the government's "Ten New Major Construction Projects" (新十大建設), in order to help universities improve their infrastructure and management.
Integration
The project is also aimed at helping universities integrate human resources and develop their own special fields of interest and research, to ensure that at least one Taiwanese school would within a decade be listed among the world's top higher-learning institutions.
Key
"People of talent can be key to a country's international competitiveness. To establish the ability to research and develop and to enhance a country's abilities, like the COE Project in Japan and the BK21 Project in Korea have done, we should do something in our higher-education institutions to make Taiwan an island of innovation," Chen De-hua (
"Every university should review its own capabilities and targets to make a reasonable assessment based on the proportion of research versus teaching. There should also be a reasonable system for distributing educational resources," Chen said.
He also said that a policy should not be implemented on a basis of fake equality and that every school should determine its own position and orientation to serve its own function well. Therefore, every university would necessarily receive a different amount from the budget, he said.
Special budget
The fund for the project is a special budget and according to the MOE, seven of the nation's universities -- National Taiwan University, National Tsing Hua University, National Chiao Tung University, National Cheng Kung University, National Yung Ming University, National Central University and National Chengchi University -- have submitted their blueprints for becoming a top international university.
Twenty-two universities proposed projects for setting up leading research centers in the fields of human science, nano and information technology, biological technology, medicine, business management, agriculture and fishery, and environmental technology.
The proposals have already been sent to an ad hoc committee for deliberation and the approved projects will be announced in September, Chen said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS