The Ministry of Education inked an agreement with the University of Paris-Saclay to encourage outstanding students to pursue doctoral degrees in France, spotlighting government endeavors to deepen academic exchanges and boost research cooperation with European nations.
Signed by UPSaclay President Camille Galap in Paris and delivered to Taiwan by the university’s vice president, Rachid Bennacer, the agreement was signed by Director General Joyce Yu-jiuan Lee of the MOE Department of International and Cross-strait Education at a ceremony Oct. 15 in Taipei City. MOE Deputy Minister Yeh Ping-cheng, Deputy Foreign Minister François Chih-chung Wu, Nobel laureate in physics Alain Aspect, and other academics and officials served as witnesses.
According to Yeh, the two institutions will select three students from Taiwan to seek PhDs each year under the agreement, and will jointly fund a three-year scholarship to support them. He added that, in line with a science and technology cooperation agreement signed in 2023, priority will be given to those focusing on the fields of aerospace, artificial intelligence and cyber security, green energy and carbon reduction, health and medical care, oceanography, or semiconductors and quantum mechanics.
Following Yeh’s remarks, Bennacer said UPSaclay has also reached out to its counterparts in Taiwan to establish dual degree programs and sign academic cooperation agreements. He added that he hopes to see more exchanges across the board in the future.
Taiwan and France enjoy a close relationship in education, the MOE said, citing a total of 1,737 French students studying in Taiwan in 2024, topping the list of European countries. There are 2,872 academic exchange pacts signed between the two sides’ educational institutions, an annual education meeting has been held by the two sides since 2008 to discuss relevant policies and a higher education forum is hosted on a rotating basis to share mutual experiences, the ministry added. (YCH-E)
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