A Message from the President
Academia Sinica, founded on June 9, 1928, has been established for 80 years. From the original five research units, Academia Sinica has gradually expanded to encompass thirty-one research institutes, preparatory offices, and research centers, gathering together great research talents and writing an important chapter in the history of academic research in Taiwan. In order to celebrate Academia Sinica's 80th Anniversary, we hosted the "Academy Presidents' Forum" on December 6-8, 2008; published commemorative volumes on Academia Sinica's history under the general title Pursuing Excellence: Academia Sinica in Eighty Years; established a database inquiry system for Academia Sinica's historical photos; held a National Digital Archives Program exhibition of Academia Sinica's history; made a documentary film celebrating Academia Sinica's 80th Anniversary; and so forth. Through a process of learning and reviewing, we establish new knowledge paradigms to increase our capacity for innovative research and development.
As the most prominent academic research institution of the country, Academia Sinica has the mission to conduct cutting-edge research in the humanities and sciences, nurture academic talents, and issue policy advisories. Academia Sinica has been working wholeheartedly to formulate new approaches for academic research, assess research organization and reforms, and facilitate academic cooperation and liaison between domestic and overseas institutes, as well as pursuing projects to foster academic excellence. According to the statistics from 1999 to 2009, not only has the number of papers released by Academia Sinica been growing very rapidly, but also the number of citations per paper has increased to 10.75, which is more than other research institutes in Taiwan and exceeds National Singapore University's 9.66, National Seoul University's 9.12, and the Chinese Academy of Science's 6.92.
Academia Sinica currently has about 940 research fellows and technical staff, 96% of whom have earned their doctorates, and 700 post-doctoral research fellows. In the future, we will continue to appoint more well-qualified post-doctoral research fellows to enhance our research capabilities. In order to cultivate academic research talents, Academia Sinica works together with domestic universities to establish the Taiwan International Graduate Program and interdisciplinary degree programs to nurture research talents in key areas. In addition, we are consistently seeking to protect intellectual property and facilitate technology transfers.
New research discoveries are closely related to the life of humankind as a whole, while academic researchers always have to balance the desire of academic freedom and social responsibility, as well as guarding intellectual property rights while popularizing new knowledge. Our ultimate concern remains enhancing the integral value of the community as a whole. Looking into the future, in order to create a better research environment, Academia Sinica not only will integrate existing resources but also expand research facilities and space by redesigning Academia Sinica's campus. We are also cooperating with the National Science Council to construct a "National Biotechnology Research Park" to expand our international graduate programs and incubation center, and to develop research centers in the fields of translational medicine and other interdisciplinary areas. Aside from further strengthening our focus areas, Academia Sinica will continue to explore new research areas and work with other academic institutes around the world to create a better future for mankind.
