NCKU has established an inter-college cooperation with the Engineering College, Washington University

Dr. Paul Liao, alumnus of the Civil Engineering Department, offers grants for studying at Washington University

 

The Cultural, Educational and Technological Cooperation Agreement between the Engineering Colleges of NCKU and Washington University was signed by the Vice President of Research and Development, Dr. Huang, Zhao-Duan (黃肇端), and Dr. Main Soma of the University of Washington, on May 10, 2005 at NCKU. The Engineering College Dean, Dr. Li Qing-Ting, and Dr. Paul Liao (廖保和), alumni of both universities, joined this special occasion. Dr. Liao set up a scholarship bearing his name as part of this agreement, and this will offer NCKU students from the Departments of Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Medical Laboratory and Biotechnology, a great opportunity to undertake further study at the University of Washington.

 

There are five themes underlying the agreement, namely cooperative research projects; course, seminar and conference participation; information sharing; faculty or student exchange ;and academic-industrial cooperation and technology transfer.

 

Dr. Main Soma noted that the two universities both have the goal of raising their international profiles, developing engineering capacity and enhancing academia-industrial cooperation. He praised Dr. Liao for his efforts in connecting the two universities.

 

Dr. Liao, currently the chairman of KCM Inc., expressed his appreciation towards the two universities and his wish to do something to return the help that they had given him, and to this end he donated one million US dollars to the University of Washington to establish a scholarship for students from NCKU who show significant potential. He pointed out that both universities have strong connections with high-tech industries, bio-technology and engineering, so that the cooperation will bring mutual benefits.

 

The University of Washington had originally suggested that the money be used to establish a lectureship for international scholars. However, Dr. Liao felt that the number of Taiwanese students studying in America has been dropping in recent years, and so he persuaded Washington University to do something else, and instead set up a scholarship with a million dollars of his own money and half a million from the University itself.

 

This scholarship covers the expenses for scholar exchanges, for NCKU students studying in Washington University, and for other forms of academic cooperation and interaction, especially project-oriented cooperation

 

The selection priority of potential candidates for this scholarship is students who have majored in civil engineering, environmental engineering, biotechnology and electrical engineering. At the end of the fall semester, students with a TOFEL grade of over 580 can be recommended by each department as candidates. The eventual recipients, chosen in the spring semester, will study a master’s or doctoral degree in Washington University, starting in the next fall semester.

 

This engineering inter-college agreement is actually the first step in a broader process of cooperation – and other, similar agreements are planned, which hopefully will further consolidate the close relationship between these two institutions.

 

Note: The application form and regulations for the Liao Bao He Scholarship can be viewed at the NCKU Civil Engineering Department website: www.civil.ncku.edu.tw

 

[The text and photos are taken from the NCKU Newsletter, Issue 214.]