In a bid to cultivate “elite academics,” the Ministry of Education (MOE) yesterday unveiled a five-year program to fund doctoral students’ research at overseas institutes.
Department of Higher Education Director Nicole Lee (李彥儀) said the program was introduced in response to the less-than-ideal doctoral program enrollment rates, which stood at about 70 percent of the goal the ministry set this year.
The ministry plans to recruit 100 students for the first year of the program and raise that number by an additional 100 in the following years, meaning 500 students are likely to be eligible for the program by 2021, Lee said.
For the first, second and fifth year of the program, the ministry plans to give 100 students an annual allowance of NT$800,000, she said.
For the third and fourth year, when the students study abroad, participants are to receive NT$1.5 million (US$144,632) annually, she said.
In return, the seven schools that have been selected for the program are required to pay each student NT$2.7 million to cover miscellaneous fees, she said.
Furthermore, the schools are required to maintain a “research log” detailing each participant’s studies abroad and launch a job placement program to help participants find employment.
National Taiwan University, National Taiwan Normal University, National Chengchi University, National Chiaotung University, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taipei Medical University and the Chinese Medical University are taking part in the program.
Lee said the universities were chosen after proposals they submitted for the program passed a review.
According to the proposals, the research fields participants are to engage in include arts and humanities, social sciences, applied engineering, biomedical and bioagricultural science.
The ministry has earmarked NT$80 million for the first group of students.
Lee said she is hopeful that the first batch of students would be eligible for the program this year.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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