A 33 percent drop in the number of doctoral students in technology over the past decades does not bode well for the domestic research environment, Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) said yesterday.
Chen made the remarks at a one-day science development strategy conference in Taipei, which was convened by the Ministry of Science and Technology to collect opinions from experts from varied disciplines and an advisory board formed to review its policies about basic research and talent cultivation.
Aside from Chen, the 34-member board includes Academia Sinica President James Liao (廖俊智), former Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) and academicians, as well as university presidents and professors.
Photo: CNA
Over the past three months, the ministry has drawn heated criticism from Academia Sinica and dozens of academic groups for its emphasis on industrial projects, such as artificial intelligence technology, while cutting funding for basic research and postdoctoral researchers.
Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said a number of academics had visited him to share their opinions and he had relayed them to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
The government would certainly devote sufficient resources to support basic research, but funding should also be spent on critical areas, he said in his opening address at the conference.
The ministry has not cut the budget for basic research, but their results often receive less media coverage and are less known to the public because some of them are not that accessible, Chen Liang-gee said.
The decline in the number of young researchers is a serious crisis for the nation, with some doctoral programs experiencing difficulty recruiting students, he said.
About one-third of the nation’s researchers would be retiring in 10 years and this could be the best time for young people to apply for doctoral programs, Liao said.
Tasked with promoting technological development, supporting academic research and operating science parks, the ministry should take gradual steps if it is to promote industry-oriented research, he said.
Academia should also pay more attention to training doctoral students, instead of treating them as “thesis machines,” he said, advising the ministry to set up separate doctoral training grants.
While the conference was not open to the media, its conclusions would be released later, the ministry said.
The ministry would present the conclusions to the Executive Yuan, Chen Liang-gee said, adding that feasible suggestions would be implemented as soon as possible.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
RSS