Government to launch incentives to enhance R&D capacity

During a press conference Friday, NSC Minister Lee Lou-chuang revealed two grant projects that are part of the initiatives — the Academic Summit Program for senior scientists and the Jade Sculpting Program for post-doctoral researchers.

Lee said the Academic Summit Program is to provide long-term, funding to those scientists who already have distinguished achievements in their research areas, with the hope that the program will “spare them from daily administrative jobs so they can focus on research.”

According to the NSC, the “summit” project will begin Aug. 1, 2009 and run through July 31, 2014. No fewer than 10 research projects can be granted the funding every year, and each project may receive up to NT$20 million (US$600,000) over five years, it said. For the “jade-sculpting” project, NSC Deputy Minister Lih J. Chen explained that it is aimed at encouraging the “return” of post-doctoral researchers to academic institutions, which have had a shortage of post-doctoral researchers for years.

In previous years, Chen continued, most post-doctoral and other young researchers have gone into hi-tech industries, where better salaries and bonuses are offered. “Through this project, we hope to ‘win back’ those talents at a time when even the hi-techs are facing a downturn,” Chen explained.

According to the NSC, under the project, the total number of post doctoral researchers hired by academic institutions will be increased from 1,300 to 1,900 per year.

Meanwhile, the number of job openings for full-time research assistants will be increased to 5,100 per year and for part-time research assistants (for post-graduate and doctoral students) to 6,500 per year, the NSC said.

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