People with doctorates should boldly enter industry, even gaining positive short-term experience from the “fight” for new business opportunities in China, Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) said at a program demonstration event in Taipei yesterday.
The Ministry of Science and Technology in December last year launched its “Rebuild After PhDs Industrial Skill and Expertise” (RAISE) program, aiming to cultivate more high-ranking professionals for the nation’s key industries, such as biotechnology, information science and communications, as well as technologies involving semiconductors, “smart” machines and “green” energy.
For the program’s first phase, the ministry admitted 309 applicants, who gathered to exchange opinions at a program demonstration event at National Taiwan University yesterday.
Nearly 2,000 doctoral students graduate from local universities every year, but many are afraid of entering industry because they fear the unknown, Chen said.
The program aims to help 1,000 doctoral students enter industry or start new businesses, he said, adding that it has attracted 271 collaborative businesses, including Hiwin Technologies Corp, Acer Inc, Advantech Co and China Steel Corp.
Asked how the nation can rival China, which last month launched 31 incentives to attract Taiwanese talent, Chen said that he is not particularly worried because many of the ministry’s plans are “more forward-looking” and seek to place local professionals throughout the world.
“If China is such an important market for the world, Taiwan should certainly get to know it,” he said, adding that it would be great if Taiwanese could start new businesses in China or other countries.
“The ministry is unlikely to retain local professionals just through the RAISE program,” Hiwin Technologies Co chairman Eric Chuo (卓永財) said, but it does help academic people to grasp industry needs.
Artificial intelligence is a global trend, and people with mechanical engineering and big data skills are needed in industry, he said.
Many Taiwanese are strong in research and development, but the nation has failed to retain intellectual property, program participant Wu Chun-hung (吳俊宏) said.
“The biotechnological industry needs resources and support, otherwise it will decay before it even starts to grow,” he said.
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