| Legislative： |
1.Promulgated on June 22, 2015（No. 1040073190） |
| Content： |
Purpose
The Ministry of Education (abbreviated below to ‘MOE’) has formulated these directions to encourage young international scholars from APEC member economies to undertake research in Taiwan, in order to provide them with opportunities to increase their understanding of Taiwan’s culture and society, and to promote mutual understanding and interaction between Taiwan and other APEC member economies.
Eligibility
a. An international scholar who is a Ph.D. student or a postdoctoral research fellow, with the exception of anyone currently holding an R.O.C. passport, is eligible to apply for an MOE Scholarship for People from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Member Economies (abbreviated below to ‘MOE APEC Scholarship’). Priority will be given to specific research proposals by scholars who have completed a dissertation, book/s, and/or other publication/s.
b. ‘Ph.D. student’ refers to a student who is currently undertaking a doctorate program at an overseas government approved and registered public or private university or tertiary college at the time they are applying; a ‘postdoctoral research fellow’ refers to a scholar who has been awarded a Ph.D. by any overseas government approved and registered public or private university or tertiary college and is now undertaking a research project at such an overseas university, or tertiary college, or at an institute of higher education.
c. Please note that anyone in any of the following circumstances is not eligible to apply:
1. Anyone who at the time they apply is visiting, residing, studying (including undertaking an internship), teaching, or undertaking research activity in Taiwan;
2. Anyone who has received an MOE Short Term Research Award within the last 5 years;
3. Anyone who is currently receiving some form of financial assistance from a government agency or an educational institution in Taiwan to undertake a research project;
4. Anyone who would be an exchange student under some formal academic co-operation agreement signed between a university or tertiary college in Taiwan and an overseas university or tertiary college during the period undertaking the proposed research in Taiwan.
Research Period
a. The MOE APEC Scholarship period must be for a duration of between 2 and 6 months.
b. The MOE APEC Scholarship period is aligned with each fiscal year, and, in principle, the research is to be undertaken between March 1 and December 31.
Availability
Approximately 10 MOE APEC Scholarships are available each year; the actual number depends on the annual budget for the particular fiscal year.
Research Topic Area
The research topic area to be investigated in Taiwan must be related to Taiwanese humanities and art disciplines, education and culture, social sciences, the natural sciences, and/or related comparative research.
Award Value
a. A Ph.D. student will receive a monthly research subsidy of NTD $25,000; a postdoctoral fellow will receive NTD $40,000.
b. Recipients will also be reimbursed for an economy class round trip airfare for the most direct route between their place of residence and Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, or Matsu. The maximum airfare subsidy available for traveling to and from Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, or Oceania respectively will be determined in accordance with Ministry of Education regulations. Applicants are responsible for any expenses exceeding the set maximum.
Applicants Must Submit the Following Documents:
a. 3 copies of the Application Form (see appendix 1)
b. A postdoctoral fellow must provide a photocopy of their Ph.D.; a Ph.D. student must provide certification of their current enrollment, and transcripts and documentary evidence of the academic programs they have completed.
c. At least two letters of recommendation: one from a senior official of the institution, university, or tertiary college where the applicant is currently working or studying (for example: the president or vice-chancellor of a university, the director of an institute, dean of a college, head of a department, or head of a research institute, or a senior official from another institution or organization); another from a teaching scholar or expert in the applicant’s field. If the applicant is a Ph.D. student, a certification of their current enrollment must also be submitted.
Application Procedure & Timeline
a. Applications to undertake a research project in Taiwan in the following year must be submitted to the university, tertiary college, or research organization affiliated with the Ministry of Education—such as the Center for Chinese Studies, or the National Academy for Educational Research—in Taiwan at which the applicant would like to undertake research (abbreviated below to ‘host institution’). All the application material stipulated immediately above must arrive at the host institution no later than September 30 (date of receipt) each year.
b. The host institution will undertake the initial review of the application and if it supports the proposal, it will assist the applicant to prepare a brief summary of their research proposal in Chinese on a single A4 sheet, and submit that and all other required documents to the MOE by November 15 the same year for further assessment and approval.
c. The MOE will notify the host institutions of the final MOE APEC Scholarship decisions, and the host institutions will then notify the applicants. The MOE will also send a copy of the decision to the Republic of China embassy or diplomatic mission in each successful applicant’s home country or place of residence by January 31 of the next year.
Ministry of Education Selection Procedure
The applications approved by the potential host institutions undertaking the initial reviews and submitted to the MOE will be collated, and the MOE will then convene a selection panel of three to five people, comprising scholars and/or experts in the applicants' fields of research, to select the MOE APEC Scholarship recipients. Only applicants who receive at least 70 points (out of a possible 100) from each person on the selection panel may be selected to receive an MOE APEC Scholarship.
Selection is based on consideration of:
a. the applicant's potential; outstanding personal performance; and ability to carry out their proposal (30%);
b. the applicant's language ability, and the academic reputation of the research institution within the applicant’s research field and its appropriateness for the proposal (30%);
c. the overall quality and comprehensiveness of the research proposal (including the topic, structure, research methodology, and analysis of the issue/s), its feasibility, and the importance of the project to future development of the applicant’s home country and Taiwan (40%).
Grant Allocations, Verification & Account Finalization Timeline and Procedure
The host institution where a recipient is undertaking their research must request MOE APEC Scholarship payments from the MOE and undertake verification and finalization of any MOE APEC Scholarship account matters each year in accordance with the schedule and procedure set out below:
a. Appropriation requests for a recipient’s research subsidies during their research period in that year which have been verified must be formally submitted with receipts attached by March 15 each year. The research subsidies will be transferred to recipients on the tenth of each month beginning from the month after they arrive in Taiwan.
b. After the recipient has arrived in Taiwan and submitted evidence of the cost of their plane ticket to Taiwan, and their boarding pass, or flight ticket stub, a written request for reimbursement which must include a receipt may be submitted to the MOE.
c. Within one month of a recipient completing their research project, the host institution must submit two copies of the award recipient’s Research Project Report (using the format shown at appendix 2, and including mention of research results such as research papers, or published material), and an MOE APEC Scholarship funds income and expenditure statement to the MOE to undertake verification and finalization.
d. Expenditure requests, payments, verification, and finalization of accounts pertaining to MOE APEC Scholarships must be handled as stipulated in the MOE Directions for Administering Subsidies and Commissioned Funds.
Important Information
A. Regulations Concerning Recipients
1. The recipient must undertake research at a university, tertiary college, or research institute affiliated with the MOE. During the research period, the recipient must actively participate in related academic activities in Taiwan.
2. The recipient is not permitted to leave Taiwan during their MOE APEC Scholarship period without the permission of the host institution. A temporary departure is permitted if exceptional circumstances occur if such permission is obtained, but an overseas stay exceeding ten days will lead to the forfeiture of one month’s research subsidy, and they are not permitted to apply to receive it later.
3. The recipient is not permitted to undertake any paid work or to accept any other award or subsidy from any other government agency or academic institution during the period they are undertaking research in Taiwan.
4. The MOE does not provide MOE APEC Scholarship recipients housing or a research room.
5. The recipient must take out accident and medical insurance which must be effective for the full period of their stay in Taiwan. Anyone who is not yet insured will not be permitted to receive any of their research subsidy or reimbursement of the subsidized part of their airfare when they arrive in Taiwan.
6. A recipient who has acquired an alien resident certificate (ARC) after coming to Taiwan and is eligible to be covered by Taiwan's National Health Insurance must register for it and pay the monthly premium.
7. If any person submits any false or dishonest documentation, and this is investigated and verified, they will immediately be disqualified from receiving an MOE APEC Scholarship, and must pay back all the research subsidy money and any subsidized part of their airfare already received. They are also disqualified from ever applying for this scholarship again in future.
B. Responsibilities of Host Institutions in Taiwan
1. The host institution must provide the recipient with timely appropriate assistance during the MOE APEC Scholarship period that the foreign scholar is undertaking research at the relevant department or institute on a campus, or within a research unit, and must handle matters pertaining to the appropriation requests for the recipient’s research subsidy, and airfare reimbursement, and finalizing the account in accordance with the schedule determined by the MOE.
2. During the period that a recipient is undertaking research in Taiwan, if any documentation they have submitted is found to contain anything false or dishonest, the host institution must immediately stop issuing their monthly research subsidy, and apart from immediately disqualifying the person as an MOE APEC Scholarship recipient, the host institution must recover all the research subsidy money and any subsidized part of their airfare already received, and must report the matter to the MOE to be put on record. |