President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday presided over the launch of an international academic exchange initiative, expressing hope that the program would bolster Taiwan’s higher education and deepen the country’s ties with research institutions worldwide.
Speaking at the launch ceremony for the Taiwan Bridges Initiative at National Taiwan University (NTU), Lai said the program would bring 31 Nobel laureates to Taiwan over the next seven months to deliver speeches and engage in small discussion sessions, which are expected to benefit faculty members, students, researchers and the general public.
Lai, who is the honorary chair of the initiative, thanked its organizers for “building bridges” that connect Taiwan to the world.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
“We will take this initiative as an opportunity to continuously enhance higher education in Taiwan, nurture more future Nobel laureates, and further contribute to global peace, prosperity and sustainable well-being,” Lai said.
The Taiwan Bridges initiative is jointly led by Academia Sinica and NTU, and involves 10 other higher education and research institutions.
Academia Sinica President James Liao (廖俊智) said the initiative, proposed by former institute president Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), aims to bridge nations, disciplines and minds.
Lee was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1986 for his development of the crossed molecular beam technique for studying chemical reactions.
“We are here to promote science, to promote the sustained support of sciences and most importantly, the use of science for the common good of the world,” he said. “That is the most important thing for this Bridges program.”
World-renowned physicist Andre Geim gave the program’s first speech, titled “Wonder Materials,” which was based on his research that earned him his Nobel Prize.
Geim was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010, which he shared with physicist Konstantin Novoselov, for their groundbreaking discovery of graphene.
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