The Ministry of Education (MOE) has selected 12 exemplary universities of science and technology and four academia-industry collaborative research and development (R&D) centers to close the gap between academia and industry and better prepare students for the job market, Premier Jiang Yi-huah stated at today's Cabinet meeting.
These institutions will focus on key domestic industries' applied technologies and talent needs and will align academic training with the requirements of industry in order to develop practical, application-oriented technological and vocational education. It is hoped that these universities will serve as models for other universities of science and technology as well as technical and vocational colleges.
This plan has already demonstrated its success, whether in talent cultivation or in academia-industry R&D, said the premier after an MOE update on the program's progress.
A case in point is National Pingtung University of Science and Technology's collaboration with manufacturers to produce animal vaccines and adjuvants, Jiang noted; annual domestic production value of these drugs are projected to reach NT$1.5 billion (US$49.94 million) with overseas sales of about NT$2.5 billion (US$83.24 million). With such models of success and the implementation of Phase 2 of the Technological and Vocational Education Reform plan, it is expected the nation's technological and vocational education will continue to be upgraded in quality and competitiveness.
The premier stated that technological and vocational education had been overlooked for some time, so he has often visited such colleges and universities and demonstrated his support through action and funding. However, as the fields of technological and vocational education are diverse and multifaceted, he asked various ministries to collaborate on their development.
The MOE has examined the shortcomings of the plan, such as that the colleges and universities had not demonstrated their specialty fields and that the program was too academic, affecting the curricula and teaching methods.
The premier also asked the ministry to listen to complaints by the public that the certification and license tests assign too much importance to form rather than content. The MOE should make improvements so as to help students foster multifaceted technological capabilities and smoothly find jobs after graduation, he added.
According to the MOE, the plan spans from 2013-2016 and has NT$5.98 billion (US$199.1 million) in funding. In 2013, refurbishment and overhauls on numerous fundamental projects were completed. In addition, the proportion of master's and Ph.D. researchers participating in the academia-industry collaboration program increased by 20 percent in 2013 while R&D funding also grew by 13.4 percent as compared with 2012.