The Ministry of Education has approved requests by four public universities to set up research institutes in five key areas: semiconductors, artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing, the circular economy and finance, the ministry said yesterday.
The schools are National Taiwan University, National Tsing Hua University, National Cheng Kung University and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, which was created in February when National Yang Ming University and National Chiao Tung University merged.
A first group of students are to enroll in the research institutes during the 2021-2022 academic year at the earliest, the Department of Higher Education said in a statement.
To bolster the faculty at the institutes, the ministry has also agreed to allow each university to hire up to 15 additional full-time professors, it said.
The Act for National Key Fields Industry-University Cooperation and Skilled Personnel Training (國家重點領域產學合作及人才培育創新條例) was enacted on May 28, the department said.
The ministry then invited government agencies — the National Development Council, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Financial Supervisory Commission, the Mainland Affairs Council, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics and the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration — as well as experts and industry representatives to form a committee to decide the scope of the nation’s key fields, it said.
The five key areas listed are attracting attention worldwide, the ministry said, adding that there is an urgent need to ensure cooperation between industries and universities, as well as to cultivate talent, or opportunities would be missed.
The establishment of the research institutes would enable a systemic mechanism for dialogue between industries and universities to be created and increase the willingness of industries to invest their resources, the ministry said.
To maintain the research institutes’ operations, the Executive Yuan’s National Development Fund would also offer subsidies depending on the status of contributions by businesses, the ministry added.
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