Taipei City-based National Taiwan University, the country’s biggest university with more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students, is the single largest beneficiary of the government’s Sustained Progress and Rise of Universities in Taiwan Project.
The Ministry of Education-backed five-year initiative, launched in 2018, is the latest in a series of long-term funding projects for higher education development. It is anticipated that the annual budget will graudually increase to more than NT$17.4 billion (US$621.4 million) in 2021.
Additional funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology is available for institutions targeting sectors such as the six core strategic industries unveiled by President Tsai Ing-wen during her second-term inaugural address in May 2020.
These comprise the biotech and medical technology, cybersecurity, green and renewable energy, information and digital technology, national defense, and strategic stockpile industries.
Associate Professor Chen Yun-nung (left) instructs NTU Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering students. (Staff photo/Huang Chung-hsin)
NTU Vice President for Research and Development Li Pai-chi said powering cutting-edge research and nurturing the next generation of talent means encouraging more students to pursue postgraduate studies. NTU has used its SPROUT funding for extra support of several scholarship opportunities, he added.
A seasoned electrical engineering professor, Li is glad to see an increased number of pupils choosing to study doctoral programs at his university on the back of these opportunities. They enable students to take a Ph.D after graduating, he said, citing a record 118 students recruited into NTU’s doctoral programs through this channel last year.
Li Pai-chi (right), NTU vice president for research and development, is joined by students at a permanent exhibition showcasing the school’s research achievements in areas like rice breeding. (Staff photo/Pang Chia-shan)
NTU is home to some of the country’s foremost research centers in fields such as green energy materials, precision medicine and artificial intelligence-assisted systems for enhancing public health. A major goal of the school is to ensure that R&D efforts are being put to good use through industrial applications.
NTU shares the task with two other Taipei-headquartered institutions—National Taiwan University of Science and Technology and National Taiwan Normal University. Together they comprise the NTU Triangle Alliance, with each employing teaching, research and management strengths in promoting innovation and technology transfers, Li said.
Liang Hsueh-cheng, deputy director general of the MOE’s Department of Higher Education, said Taiwan’s universities are set to remain the driving force behind equipping the economy with the necessary talent to deliver sustainable development in high-growth sectors. Generously funding these institutions is an investment in the country’s future, he added. (E) (By Pat Gao)
NTU Hospital is the country’s leading medical center. (Staff photo/Chang Su-ching)
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(This article is adapted from “Seeds of Wisdom” in the July/August 2021 issue of Taiwan Review. The Taiwan Review archives dating to 1951 are available online.)