Students from 23 nations and territories — a record for the event — yesterday convened at the National Taiwan Science Education Center in Taipei for the final stage of this year’s Taiwan International Science Fair.
A total of 221 high-school and junior-high school students — 53 of whom are Taiwanese — made it into the final from a preliminary contest last month.
The finalists submitted a total of 40 works in categories including mathematics, chemistry, physics, astronomy, geography, environmental science, zoology, botany, microbiology, biochemistry, medicine, engineering, computer science, information, information engineering and environmental engineering and behavioral and social sciences.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The competition — started in 1992 as a contest for junior-high and elementary schools from nations in the Asia-Pacific region — was upgraded in 2002 when it attained its current title and started receiving entries from students around the world.
To bolster high-school students’ understanding of science, the ministry has revised high-school curriculum guidelines for next year to require students to engage in scientific projects and perform experiments in a bid to help them put theory into practice, Deputy Minister of Education Lin Teng-chiao (林騰蛟) said.
Academia Sinica president James Liao (廖俊智) gave a speech at the ceremony in which he detailed the potential for and challenges involved with the development of eco-friendly technologies that promote sustainability.
Prize-winning Taiwanese students would likely have the opportunity to compete in international science fairs, such as the US’ International Science and Engineering Fair, with the results scheduled to be announced on Friday, the education center said.
The overseas participants are from Belgium, Switzerland, Norway, Italy, Canada, New Zealand, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Mexico, Nepal, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tunisia, Kyrgyzstan, Hong Kong and Macau.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and