Newspapers have reported that the number of applicants to National Tsing Hua University’s College of Life Science has surged as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, while National Taiwan University data show that the three departments with the largest number of students temporarily suspending studies are entomology, life sciences, and biochemistry and technology.
Among first-year students in the three departments, the suspension rate is 30 percent, as many have chosen to retake the Joint College Entrance Examination next year, making every effort to enter medical school. Most of them have not even attended a single day of classes.
These are departments of basic science, which have never been a favorite among Taiwanese students. Professionally oriented majors such as medicine, electrical engineering and information engineering in the “sciences” track and business administration, finance and law in the “social sciences” track are much more popular.
Although it is difficult for basic science departments to win favor with students, they have great potential, because they help lay a solid foundation, especially at a time when cross-disciplinary talent is in great demand and offering unlimited development opportunities.
This is why young students should be encouraged to enter basic science departments if they want to devote themselves to virus research and help create a better world.
The novel coronavirus is the seventh type of coronavirus that is infectious to humans, and science still knows little about it. It is perhaps the strongest virus in the world — even asymptomatic carriers can spread it. Thus, searching for a cure and a vaccine is the most important task at hand.
Doctors save lives, but the number of patients that they can save is limited. If students can solve problems such as vaccines, they would be making a greater contribution to humanity.
To cultivate talent, basic science departments should add more research training to their curricula, including such research tools such as theoretical studies, statistics and coding.
For example, the Human Genome Project aims to create a map of the complete human DNA sequence. The implementation of such a massive project requires great logical analysis and computer skills.
Scientific research and exploring the unknown can be a lifetime interest and provide great satisfaction. After completing a degree in a basic science, if the graduate’s interests change or they realize that they do not like research, the English-language saying “When God closes a door, he opens a window” applies. They can transfer from academia to great prospects on offer in private industry.
The nation’s biotech and pharmaceutical industries have developed well. From flora, aquaculture, biopesticides, health foods and traditional Chinese medicine to generic drug manufacturing, these sectors in Taiwan are praised worldwide.
In the past few years, the rising biotechnology industry has connected with information and communications technology, as well as artificial intelligence. It has already made progress in related technology and product development, including biological information, biochips, biopharmaceuticals and advanced medical devices, and there are great prospects for continued development.
The main strength of youth is their age. As US poet Ralph Waldo Emerson [quoted Samuel Taylor Coleridge]: “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”
Students should not think too much, but act on their impulse to learn and have the courage to pursue their dreams.
Lin Chien-fu is a professor in the department of economics at National Taiwan University.
Translated by Eddy Chang
On March 22, 2023, at the close of their meeting in Moscow, media microphones were allowed to record Chinese Communist Party (CCP) dictator Xi Jinping (習近平) telling Russia’s dictator Vladimir Putin, “Right now there are changes — the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years — and we are the ones driving these changes together.” Widely read as Xi’s oath to create a China-Russia-dominated world order, it can be considered a high point for the China-Russia-Iran-North Korea (CRINK) informal alliance, which also included the dictatorships of Venezuela and Cuba. China enables and assists Russia’s war against Ukraine and North Korea’s
After thousands of Taiwanese fans poured into the Tokyo Dome to cheer for Taiwan’s national team in the World Baseball Classic’s (WBC) Pool C games, an image of food and drink waste left at the stadium said to have been left by Taiwanese fans began spreading on social media. The image sparked wide debate, only later to be revealed as an artificially generated image. The image caption claimed that “Taiwanese left trash everywhere after watching the game in Tokyo Dome,” and said that one of the “three bad habits” of Taiwanese is littering. However, a reporter from a Japanese media outlet
An article published in the Dec. 12, 1949, edition of the Central Daily News (中央日報) bore a headline with the intimidating phrase: “You Cannot Escape.” The article was about the execution of seven “communist spies,” some say on the basis of forced confessions, at the end of the 713 Penghu Incident. Those were different times, born of political paranoia shortly after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) relocated to Taiwan following defeat in China by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The phrase was a warning by the KMT regime to the local populace not to challenge its power or threaten national unity. The
Since taking office, President William Lai (賴清德) has been an active proponent of the Healthy Taiwan initiative. As a member of the Healthy Taiwan Promotion Committee, I have also contributed recommendations on various pharmaceutical policies. After the committee concluded its seventh meeting on Saturday last week, Lai announced that the government is considering a three-year suspension on the Drug Expenditure Target (DET) system’s routine drug price surveys, highlighting the need to further support drug supply resilience. While I am supportive of this policy direction, I must also stress the importance of maintaining our original objective of improving the quality of
RSS