Taiwan pushing for more post-doc fellows to work in private sector

 2012/11/07 19:59:06  Taipei, Nov. 7 (CNA) Taiwan's top academic institution hopes to get at least 10 percent of Taiwan's postdoctorate fellows to work in the private sector, up from 3 percent at present, the institution's head said at a legislative hearing Wednesday.Academia Sinica President Wong Chi-huey said at a hearing on the institution's budget held by the Education and Culture Committee that while postdoctorate fellows are the backbone of basic research at the institution, there are too few of them employed in Taiwan's private sector.The institution will try to help them apply their research with private companies in the future, he said in response to a question by Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Chiang Nai-shin.There were 300 postdoctorate fellows at the Academia Sinica in 2008-2009, according to statistics compiled by the institution, Chiang said.More than half of them continued on a research path, while only 3.6 percent made the transition to work in the private sector, Chiang said.Wong said the gap between private sector demand for these highly educated researchers and their supply has resulted in a poor utilization rate of postdoctorate fellows or doctoral degree holders by private companies.The biotechnology field, for example, not only needs expertise in biology but also in chemistry, medical biotechnology, and management, he said.Currently there are too many people doing basic research in biology and technology but not enough people are involved in other biotechnology-related fields, he said.The remarks coincide with the institute's plan to better utilize the country's top talent to be laid out at the end of the year in a White Paper to the government on policies related to higher education, collaboration between universities and industries, and the science research budget.Meanwhile, when asked about Taiwan being shut out again from Nobel prizes, Wong said Taiwan should reinforce the country's mechanism used to nominate candidates to Nobel committees.He cited Japan's approach of concentrating on a few nominees, in contrast to Taiwan's tendency to nominate several researchers from different fields and different research institutions.If a single scholar can be nominated by different domestic and foreign institutions, then the individual will have a better chance of gaining the attention of the Nobel committee in the person's field, he said.The last and so far only time a native Taiwanese has won a Nobel Prize