The Ministry of Education on Tuesday announced a plan to enlist and retain more top academics and technology experts by increasing their salaries by as much as NT$5 million (US$165,415) per year.
The project was developed based on the low salaries of professors in Taiwan compared with their counterparts around the world, the ministry said.
The “Yushan Project” is comprised of three parts: the selection of “Yushan Scholars;” a flexible wage payment system for academics at institutions of higher education and internationally competitive research centers; and a 10 percent hike to full-time professors’ research pay.
The Yushan Scholars would be the biggest beneficiaries, as they would be entitled to a wage hike of up to NT$5 million per year, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) said.
The average annual wage for a full-time professor is about NT$1.5 million, but with the planned benefit, a Yushan Scholar could receive up to NT$6.5 million, Pan said, adding that each Yushan Scholar would hold the title for three years at a time.
Under the program, the ministry within three years is to enlist 500 talented academics from overseas and retain 500 Taiwanese academics, the ministry said, adding that the draft is to be submitted for Cabinet approval to enable its application next year.
The high wage level would be “very competitive” compared with other nations, Pan said, adding that Nanyang Technological University in Singapore offers between NT$2.7 million and NT$6.1 million annually to its professors; City University at Hong Kong offers NT$4.6 million and US public and private universities offer an average of NT$3 million.
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