Tang Prize Foundation chief executive Chern Jenn-chuan (陳振川) and National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) president Su Huey-jen (蘇慧貞) on Wednesday signed a contract at the school to use NT$5 million (US$159,683) donated by a Tang Prize winner to fund a project developed by the university to help train female scientists and research fellows from developing countries.
Former Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, winner of the first Tang Prize in Sustainable Development, received a NT$40 million cash prize and a NT$10 million research grant, which she decided to donate to fund research and education, with NT$5 million to be provided to the Milgis Trust, a Kenyan non-profit organization aimed at sustaining the wildlife, environment and way of life of pastoral peoples in northern Kenya.
At the recommendation of former Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), the other NT$5 million is to be used by the Tang Prize Foundation and university to fund the project, Chern said.
The school plans to hold a science week titled the “Gro Brundtland Week of Women in Sustainable Development” over three consecutive years, which would select distinguished young female researchers from developing countries to visit Taiwan and go on speaking tours, as well as engage in talks with female Taiwanese scientists, Su said.
The first science week is to be held at the end of this year, with female research fellows from Southeast Asia and Africa to be invited to visit Taiwan. The university is also to provide financial support for the event.
If all conditions are met, the university might invite three or four female academics from New Zealand and Australia to attend the event.
Brundtland will also be invited to officiate the event, Su said.
Taiwan has lagged behind Europe and the US in scientific research, development and innovation. Now it is Taiwan’s turn to lead developing countries in this area, Su said.
Widely regarded as the “godmother” of sustainable development, Brundtland has been an advocate of public health, political activism and the environment for most of her life.
Serving as the UN special envoy on climate change from 2007 to 2010, Brundtland led the formulation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which facilitates the creation of international agreements in response to global warming.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai
RSS