About the Program
Friends of Taiwan Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (FOT-SURF) program supports undergraduate students to participate in research projects conducted by prestige scholars in Taiwan. Research areas include ecology and conservation, cancer biology, environmental microbiology and epidemiology, and chemistry. All participating investigators have active ongoing research projects and outstanding publication records. FOT-SURF promotes active participation in intellectual and culture exchanges. Through the program, we encourage cross-culture interaction and academic collaboration among young scientists. Other activities also include travel, culture-related visits and fellowship among students from different cultures. Host institutions have outstanding research accomplishments, vibrant campus life and the rich culture of surrounding areas to provide students rich experience of advanced research and the understanding of local cultures.
Duration of the 2020 program: June 1 to Aug 14, 2020 (depends on the flight schedule, the actual departure and return date may vary). The Friends of Taiwan will hold a pre-trip orientation for all participants in Chicago (Date TBD), before departure for Taiwan.
Financial Support and Opportunities: Financial support is provided by the program to cover insurance, VISA application fee (if applies), round-trip ticket, room and board throughout the program. Host institutions will also provide culture exchange opportunities such as dialog, local visits and travel within Taiwan.
About Taiwan: Taiwan is an island country situated in the heart of Asia, in between north and south east Asia, by the west edge of the Pacific Rim. Taiwan has a population of 23 million. Many still observe traditional culture and speak regional dialects in addition to Mandarin. Taiwan is a fast-growing country known its development in economy, information technologies and modern medicine. Taiwan is also famous of its unique and yet diverse ecosystems.
The unique location also allows Taiwan to inherit many different cultures including Chinese, Japanese, Austronesian, and early European cultures. Taiwan’s geographical and historical uniqueness has given rise to a diversity of ethnic groups, cultures, and languages. There are 380,000 people who belong to twelve officially recognized indigenous tribes, each with their own social structure, language, and cultural traditions.
People in Taiwan enjoy a free, democratic, and safe society International students usually find that it is easy to live and study in Taiwan. Taiwanese pride themselves on their hospitality and are committed to creating a friendly and convenient living environment for others to study Mandarin and experience cultures of Taiwan.
About Friends of Taiwan:
Friends of Taiwan is a non-political, non-religious and non-profit organization founded in Chicagoland of USA in 2017. The main missions of Friends of Taiwan are to help Taiwan be well recognized internationally and to promote Taiwan international relationship. Friends of Taiwan currently supports the research fellowship program and Taiwan ecology and culture study tours to help American youths to do research in Taiwan and explore the lives, cultures and scenery views in Taiwan.
Qualifications for Student Participants: Undergraduate students currently studying at a four year regionally accredited college, who meet all requirements listed below are welcome to apply for the 2020 program:
- Accumulated at least 60 (semester) credit hours or one half of total required graduation credits by the program starting date
- At least 15 or one quarter of accumulated credits are related to the applying field.
- A GPA 3.3 or higher (students with GPA close to 3.3 are encouraged to apply)
- Mature and independent personality, loving learning new culture and team-work spirit.
Application and deadline: All application materials should be sent to Dr. Tim Lin <arfytim@gmail.com> no later than midnight (CST), March 16, 2020. Required application documents include:
- A cover letter describing the intent of participation and the selected PIs ranked in the order of preference
- Unofficial transcripts (official transcripts may be required when the applicant is accepted)
- An updated resumé or curriculum vita
- An essay including the following information:
- Describing yourself as a person, your personality and what you want Taiwanese colleagues to know about you
- Why you want to participate in FOT-SURF program and its significance to your future career
- Why you are interested in selected research areas
- A list of research techniques you have learned
- Two Letter(s) of recommendation from your research advisor or academic faculty
Notification of the selection result and commitment: Successful applicant will be notified no later than midnight March 23 via the e-mail address provided in the application. If selected, commitment to the program should be made no later than 6:00pm (CST), Mar 30.Passport, VISA application (if required) and other documents should be submitted immediately and received by Apr 06. Failing to do so is considered as declining the offer.
List of Participating Principle Investigators (please follow the link or scan the QR code):
陳永恩 Michael Chan, PhD, Professor, Cancer Epigenetics and Immunology
趙偉廷Wei-Ting Chao, PhD, Associate Professor, Cell Biology, Cancer Biology
許昺慕 Bing-Mu Hsu, PhD, Professor, Environmental Microbiology, Public Health, Risk Assessment
郭明裕 Ming-Yu Kuo, PhD, Professor, Computational Chemistry & Organic Semiconductors
溫國彰 Colin Kuo-Chang Wen, PhD, Assistant Professor, Coral Fish Ecology & Conservation Biology https://sites.google.com/go.thu.edu.tw/fishlab/home?authuser=0
余長澤 Chang-Tze (Ricky) Yu, PhD, Associate Professor, Molecular Oncology, Organelle Biology