The Ministry of Education is considering establishing the Taiwan Advanced Academy of Science, with recruitment to be managed jointly by Academia Sinica and the nation’s top four universities.
The policy echoes President William Lai’s (賴清德) comments at the National Chair Professorship Award Ceremony in March that the government would institute policies to provide more science opportunities and resources, creating a better research environment that would hopefully produce Nobel Prize winners in physics, chemistry and medicine in the next 30 years.
The academy would not have a physical site and would be jointly managed by National Taiwan University, National Tsing Hua University, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, National Cheng Kung University and Academia Sinica, the ministry said.
Photo: Lo Hsin-chen, Taipei Times
The move would concentrate resources under a joint platform, it said.
The academy would recruit students based on subject field — such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and Earth sciences — with a written test in the first stage and a combined second stage involving a review of applicants’ materials, a practical test and an interview, it said.
The second stage would be handled by a cross-university interview committee, and successful applicants would choose their preferred university and department, it said.
The ministry is also considering establishing national science experimental high schools to foster tech and academic talent.
Students who complete their education at such schools would not have to take the written test for the academy if they meet the criteria, and could proceed directly to the second stage, it said.
High-school students who attend Olympiads or international science fairs would also have their first-stage written exam waived, the ministry said.
Plans for the academy are preliminary and not set in stone, Ministry of Education Secretary-General Lin Po-chiao (林伯樵) said.
The program is not meant to replicate the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies offered by universities, but rather to help students with a clearly defined interests gain greater autonomy in self-directed research through flexible learning schedules, the ministry said.
The academy would have limited openings and would not affect other channels for students seeking further education, Lin said.
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