Academia Sinica and the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding in a pledge to help promote a cooperative academic relationship between Nepal and Taiwan.
The signing ceremony was held on August 6, 2009 at Academia Sinica. The memorandum was signed by President Chi-Huey Wong, and the Vice Chancellor of NAST, Prof. Hom Nath Bhattarai.
NAST was established in 1982 by a royal ordinance as an autonomous body for the development and promotion of science and technology in Nepal. The Academy emphasizes intensive agriculture cultivation, architectural design and civil construction, metal work and craftsmanship.
The MOU will facilitate the establishment of joint research projects, and also help to promote a cooperative relationship between NAST and Academia Sinica, including exchanges between senior scientists and executives, and human resources training programs. As a result of the agreement, closer future collaboration is envisaged between the two Academies. In particular, Academia Sinica will assist NAST in building expertise in the biotechnology field, especially in translational research on agriculture-related biotechnology programs. Academia Sinica has well-established on-going research in these areas in its Agricultural Biotechnology Research Center, Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Research Center for Biodiversity, and Academia Sinica Biotechnology Experimental Center in Southern Taiwan.
In addition to bringing their own research initiatives to the cooperative relationship, NAST is also expected to actively participate in Academia Sinica’s Taiwan International Graduate Program (TIGP), which aims to training young researchers in several frontier research areas. The cooperation will begin modestly with activities such as student exchanges and mutual visits, as time goes on, however, Academia Sinica envisages much closer and substantive collaboration.
During their stay in Taiwan, Prof. Hom Nath Bhattarai and Dr. Chiranjivi Regmi will visit the Agricultural Biotechnology Research Center, the Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, the Research Center for Biodiversity, Institute of Mathematics and the Genomics Research Center within Academia Sinica, and also National Taiwan University, National Chiao Tung University, the Industrial Technology Research Institute and the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park.
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