Thirty-one Nobel Prize laureates would be invited to Taiwan for academic exchanges and collaboration from November to May next year, National Taiwan University (NTU) president Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) said yesterday.
The first lecture presented by a Nobel laureate would take place on Nov. 10, he said.
NTU is collaborating with the International Peace Foundation to invite Nobel laureates in different fields to share their ideas or experiences with Taiwanese students, academics and the public, Chen said.
Photo: Rachel Lin, Taipei Times
A fellowship society has been set up to facilitate exchanges between local academics and the Nobel laureates, he said, adding that its members include the Industrial Technology Research Institute and 17 universities, as well as 14 companies that would offer a total of NT$22.5 million (US$751,729) in annual sponsorship for five years.
The fellowship society would focus on organizing speeches, collaborative projects, educational programs and other activities, he said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has launched a program to help leading universities develop research centers for their specialized academic fields.
The program is part of efforts to boost Taiwan’s international competitiveness in artificial intelligence (AI), biomedicine and marine technologies in response to President William Lai’s (賴清德) industrial development policy.
The ministry would allocate NT$300 million annually to five national universities to fund their development of six research centers starting from the autumn semester, with each center receiving about NT$50 million.
NTU would invest NT$5 million, or 10 percent of the ministry’s funding, in each of its newly built research centers — the AI and biomedicine centers, Chen said.
The ministry has also implemented three top-down schemes regarding “extension of regional collaborations,” “reform of talent training courses” and “breakthroughs in research and development,” he said.
NTU’s research and development, and academic affairs offices have begun inviting proposals relevant to the former two schemes and reviewing them, he added.
About 10 percent of NTU students are international degree students, and with short-term visiting international students included, the figure rises to 18 to 20 percent, he said.
NTU would hire more foreign lecturers, as they make up only 9 percent of the faculty, and about 25 percent of academics have retired over the past 10 years, he said.
Last year, the university’s overall funding was NT$22.5 billion, and its income from work-based learning programs and donations increased over the period, he said.
He said the university would also offer a visiting student program for people attending or newly admitted to US universities.
NTU aims to support students whose study plans in the US might be disrupted following the US government’s ban on international students at Harvard University, he said.
Enrolled students would be registered as non-degree, full-time students for a semester or an academic year, and would receive official university credits upon completion, NTU’s Web site said.
Applications for the program are to be open from June 16 to Aug. 15, with admission lists released in batches next month and in August.
The application fee is NT$15,000, and students would be required to pay NT$40,000 upon registration, NTU said.
If students wish to complete their studies at NTU after the program, the university would provide guidance for admission or transfer applications, it said.
For Taiwanese, NTU would coordinate with the ministry to arrange their transfer, it said.
The university said it would allow foreign students to enroll as early as in the second semester of the 2025-2026 academic year.
The program hopes to help students continue with their studies in Taiwan, and is not targeting any country or school, he said.
NTU would continue to welcome talented students to Taiwan, he added.
Additional reporting by CNA
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