NTU’s 1st Science Innovation School for Global Young Scientists a Big Success

The 1st NTU Science Innovation School for Global Young Scientists was kicked off at the International Conference Hall of the Center for Condensed Matter Science at NTU from August 19-25, 2019. The program invited outstanding international and domestic high school students in their second and third year to explore the excellent teaching and research environment at NTU and gain deeper knowledge in cutting-edge technology in the fields of quantum computing and life science.

The 47 participants were talented young students from Indonesia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, and Vietnam as well as from selected high schools in Taiwan, namely Taipei First Girls High School, Taipei Municipal Zhongshan Girls High School, Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School, Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University, and Taipei Municipal Chenggong High School.

The program was directed by Prof. Chao-Ming Fu (傅昭銘) from NTU’s Department of Physics. Outstanding faculty members at NTU, including Prof. Hsi-Sheng Goan (管希聖) from the Department of Physics, Prof. Chau-Ti Ting (丁照棣) from the Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Prof. Han-Yi Chou (周涵怡) from the Graduate Institute of Oral Biology, and Prof. Hung-Yi Lee (李宏毅) from the Graduate Institute of Networking and Multimedia, offered the participants a glimpse into their respective research fields.

For the final presentations in English, the students worked in mixed teams of Taiwanese and international students on their research projects either related to quantum computing or life science. After a week of intensive training, the final competition was held on August 23, with 13 teams (five teams focusing on quantum computing, eight teams focusing on life science) competing for awards and showcasing their newly gained knowledge and skills.

The first prize of USD 3,000 was awarded to the research project “Break the Mold,” conducted by three students, namely Shu-Jiun Lin (林紓均) from Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School, Jhih-Jia Li (黎芷嘉) from Taipei First Girls High School, and Sen Shiba from the Hiroo Gakuen Junior & Senior High School, Japan. Besides, a second prize, a third prize, and three jury awards were awarded to outstanding teams. Each participating student also received a certificate of successful completion of the program from NTU. Executive Vice President Chiapei Chou (周家蓓) was extremely impressed by the students’ performance and praised each group for presenting their innovative research projects as well as their advanced knowledge gained through the program in the entertaining and challenging eight-minute group presentations.

Through the program, NTU has gained a large number of young fans and talented applicants with great potential. In addition to the high school students applying for undergraduate degrees, three of the students’ team leaders also expressed their interest in pursuing a master’s degree at NTU. The 1st NTU Science Innovation School for Global Young Scientists fully met the purpose of inviting outstanding international and domestic high school students to experience the excellent teaching and research environment at NTU, learn about cutting-edge technology, and make new friends from all over the world.