TAINAN, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) and Tang Prize Foundation signed an agreement on July 15 to promote involvement of younger women researchers in sustainable development.
NCKU President Huey-Jen Jenny Su and Tang Prize Foundation CEO Jenn-Chuan Chern signed the agreement on behalf of the respective organizations.
Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway and the winner of 2014 Tang Prize in Sustainable Development, donates NT $5 million to fund a project initiated by NCKU to help train female scientists and research fellows from developing countries, according to Tang Prize Foundation CEO Chern.
At the recommendation of former Academia Sinica President Yuan-Tseh Lee, the NT$5 million will be used by the Tang Prize Foundation and NCKU to fund the project, Chern added.
President Su said NCKU plans to hold a science week titled the "Gro Brundtland Week of Women in Sustainable Development" for three consecutive years to select distinguished young female researchers from developing countries to visit Taiwan and go on speaking tours of the island, while engaging in talks with Taiwanese female scientists.
The first is set to be held at the end of this year, when female research fellows from Southeast Asia and Africa will be invited to Taiwan. NCKU will also provide financial support for the event.
The university might invite three or four female scholars from New Zealand and Australia to attend the event if all conditions are met. Meanwhile, Brundtland will also be invited to officiate at the event, according to President Su.
She added that Gro Brundtland Week of Women in Sustainable Development, one-week science activity including symposiums, forums, lecturers and exhibitions, about the worldwide issues related to sustainable development will be held annually for a total of three years.
Each year, five qualified female researchers from developing countries and Taiwan will be invited and subsidized to present their work during the week, said Su.
