About Yushan

Goal

The Yushan Fellow Program is created with the purpose of assisting universities and tertiary colleges (hereunder referred to as “universities”) to attract and recruit top-tier talent with international competitiveness to Taiwan to teach by providing internationally competitive salaries and benefits so that their academic and industrial expertise can take root in Taiwan’s academic environment and increase the international impact of Taiwan’s higher education.

Eligibility Criteria

The internationally outstanding academics being recruited by universities are divided into the categories Yushan Fellows and Yushan Young Fellows. In principle, each scholar applies to one university. The eligibility criteria for each category are as follows:

A Yushan Fellow refers to a person who meets one of the following criteria:

(1) The person has served at a leading international research institution or an internationally renowned company for more than ten years, has an international academic reputation or cutting-edge expertise in a core technology, and has experience leading an academic or industry research team;

(2) The person is a recipient of a Nobel Prize, a fellow of a national academy, or of a major international association, or has received some equivalent recognition;

(3) The person has made an outstanding contribution in their academic or industry field in the past five years.

A Yushan Young Fellow refers to a person who obtained their highest academic degree within the past ten years or is under the age of forty-five, and who meets any one of the following criteria:

(1) The person has served at a leading international research institution or an internationally renowned company for more than five years and demonstrates strong potential for development;

(2) The person has experience in executing major research projects;

(3) The person has made an exceptional contribution in their area of academic expertise in the past five years.

※Notes:

The scholars referred to in the preceding paragraphs are not permitted to be currently employed as a full-time employee within the staffing complement of a university or academic research institution in Taiwan who have held their position for a year or more, or to be a retiree from a university or academic research institution.
Applications for persons who have held such a position for less than a year are restricted to persons who have not previously had an application related to them made under the Yushan Fellow Program.
Scholars in the categories referred to in the preceding paragraphs are not permitted to apply to also receive any other form of flexible salary funded by subsidies provided by the Ministry of Education (abbreviated below to “the Ministry”).

Subsidy Funding

Yushan Fellows:

(1) In addition to the statutory salary, up to NT$ 5 million each year is approved for a period of three years.

(2) Provision of up to NT$ 1.5 million each year for academic exchange and work expenses is approved for a period of three years. The employing unit of the scholar shall, in accordance with the approved project plan and employment contract, apply such funds to expenses incurred by the scholar in the execution of teaching, research, international academic exchange, and work-related activities. Where such expenses involve personnel costs (such as salaries for administrative assistants, postdoctoral researchers, or part-time assistants), such costs shall be handled in accordance with standards established by each university and shall be reimbursed on an actual-cost basis.

(3) Each university may allocate 20% of the total approved amount it receives for academic exchange and work expenses as capital account funds and allocate funds from the capital account to the fellows in their university based on each fellow’s needs.

(4) Remuneration for short-term exchange Yushan Fellows may be subsidized up to NT$ 5 million per year, approved on a lump-sum basis for three years, and shall be paid in the form of daily allowances, consulting fees, lecture fees, or other similar payments. Such remuneration shall be calculated on a pro rata basis according to the period of service in Taiwan (including periods during which the scholar leads domestic teams in international exchange activities).However, the subsidy amount and expenditure period for academic exchange and work expenses shall not be limited by the duration of the scholar’s stay in Taiwan.

Yushan Young Fellows:

(1) In addition to the statutory salary, an annual salary allowance of up to NT$ 1.5 million is approved for a period of five years.

(2) Provision of up to NT$ 1.5 million each year for academic exchanges and work expenses is approved for a period of five years. The employing unit of the scholar shall, in accordance with the approved project plan and employment contract, apply such funds to expenses incurred by the scholar in the execution of teaching, research, international academic exchange, and work-related activities. Where such expenses involve personnel costs (such as salaries for administrative assistants, postdoctoral researchers, or part-time assistants), such costs shall be handled in accordance with standards established by each university and shall be reimbursed on an actual-cost basis.

(3) Each university may allocate 20% of the total approved amount it receives for academic exchanges and work expenses as capital account funds and allocate funds from the capital account to the fellows in their university based on each fellow’s needs

※Matters with Which Universities Shall Cooperate:

1. Appointment Methods:

(1) Appointment of Yushan Fellows shall be made in one of the following manners:

Appoint the Yushan Fellow as a full-time teacher within the staffing complement. However, a person older than 65 years at the time of their appointment may be appointed to a full-time as non-staffing complement personnel.
For short-term exchange teaching and research personnel, the appointment period shall be at least three years, with service at the university for no less than three months per year (including periods leading domestic teams in international exchange activities), and no more than six months per year. Where, due to alignment with mid-term evaluation schedules, the scholar is unable to complete the minimum three-month service period in the second year, such service shall be completed within the three-year project period. Where completion is not achieved within the three-year period, such circumstances shall be taken into consideration by the MOE in the subsequent allocation of application quotas to the university.

(2) Yushan Young Fellows shall be appointed as a full-time teacher within the staffing complement.

(3) The university shall complete the appointment procedure by August 1 of the following academic year. A university that fails to complete the appointment procedure by the deadline will be deemed to have voluntarily given up their quota.

(4) The Ministry will publish a list of the fellows whose appointments have been confirmed on the Yushan Fellow Program website.

(5) During the appointment period, academic research results produced by full-time Yushan Fellows or Yushan Young Fellows that involve publication shall list the employing university in Taiwan as the affiliated institution and indicate participation in the MOE Yushan Fellow Program. For short-term exchange scholars, academic results that fall within the obligations or matters stipulated in the university employment contract shall likewise list the employing university in Taiwan as the affiliated institution and indicate participation in the MOE Yushan Fellow Program.

2. Compensation and Benefits:

(1) Provide salary and benefits: basic salary, research allowance, and supervisor allowance— that are not lower than the statutory salary and benefits for a teaching position at the same level at a national university.

(2) Remuneration: Short-term exchange fellows shall be compensated in the form of daily allowances, attendance fees, consulting fees, lecture fees, or other similar payments.

3. Supportive Measures: Provide funding and equipment necessary for teaching and research; personnel expenses for administrative, or teaching, and research assistants; airfares for teachers and their family members; accommodation and relocation expenses; and assistance with children's education matters. The university may pay the necessary expenses for these measures using independently-raised funds and/or subsidies from government agencies. The criteria for associated payments and their use are handled in accordance with the regulations of the university or the regulations of government agencies regarding subsidizing expenses.

Review Criteria

1. Review Process:

(1) To align with universities’ academic year and semester operations, reviews shall, in principle, be conducted once per year.

(2) A review committee is set up and a convener is designated for each of six academic fields: Humanities and the Arts, Social Sciences, Science, Medicine, Engineering, and Life Sciences, and Agriculture, with a convener appointed for each field. The field-based review committees shall recommend scholars and experts to conduct anonymous reviews.

2. Key Points Examined:

(1) Past performance and achievements of the candidate the university proposes to appoint (significant academic contributions, academic awards received, major research findings, curriculum vitae, and a list of their publications; Yushan Fellows are asked to provide a list of their publications in the last ten years, and Yushan Young Fellows are asked to provide a list of their publications in the last five years):

The academic capacity of Yushan Fellows shall reach at least the academic standards of the MOE Academic Award.
Where a Yushan Fellow has made significant contributions to industrial research and development, the scholar shall meet at least the benchmark of the MOE National Award for Distinguished Contribution to Industry-Academia Cooperation, and satisfy one of the following conditions:

①The professional technology possesses international competitiveness, or has a significant impact on national industrial development.

②The professional technology may be integrated with the university’s or local region’s existing distinctive strengths, with complementary measures provided by the university and participation in industry (enterprise) team collaboration.

Yushan Young Fellows shall have attained, or shall demonstrate the academic potential to receive, the Ta-You Wu Memorial Award of the National Science and Technology Council.

(2) The linkage between the candidate’s future academic work and the university’s institutional development (including the Higher Education SPROUT Project), and the expected benefits:

The fellow's academic work plans and goals;
The fellow's academic work and how this is connected to the university's development (including the Higher Education SPROUT Project)
Specific implementation measures for academic work, including inviting internationally influential scholars for exchange activities to enhance Taiwan’s international academic reputation and visibility.
Plan and method for undertaking the tasks set out in Article 3 (give details of at least two selections).
Expected outcomes (including quantifiable or qualitative concrete results).

(3) Supportive measures and arrangements that the university will provide (for example, research expenses and equipment, personnel expenses for one or more research assistants, accommodation and relocation expenses, and assistance with children's education matters. The university may pay these expenses using independently-raised funds or subsidies from government agencies.) If the university provides supportive measures related to its collaboration with any enterprises, such as laboratory facilities, jointly organizing research and development teams, or funding, it is requested to provide explicit details of these.

(4) Reasonableness of the salary and benefits provided (for example, the method used to evaluate the university’s application for a Ministry subsidy for additional salary above the statutory amount, the proposed amount and intended use of subsidies for academic exchange and work expenses, and an explanation of the statutory salary to be provided by the university)

(5) Team collaboration setting-up and planning (A Yushan Fellow who is appointed shall set up a team with teaching and research personnel at the university; the team members from the university shall include at least one staff member at or below associate professor level or postdoctoral research fellow at the university. Yushan Young Fellows are not required to do this).

Implementation and Evaluation

1. Project period: Subsidies for Yushan Fellows are approved for a period of three years and subsidies for Yushan Young Fellows are approved for a period of five years. Upon completion of the implementation period, an application for renewal of subsidies may be submitted, limited to one renewal.

2. Yushan Fellows and Young Fellows who receive a subsidy under this program shall submit reports in accordance with the following schedule:

(1) Annual performance reports: Submit annual performance reports and upload them to the Yushan Fellow Program website.

(2) Mid-term reports: The mid-term report shall be subject to review by the university, and the modes of cooperation between the Yushan (Young) Fellow and the university shall be adjusted in a timely manner. Yushan Fellows shall submit a mid-term report at the end of the first year of implementation; Yushan Young Fellows shall submit a mid-term report at the end of the second year of implementation. Mid-term reports may be submitted together with the annual performance report for that year. Yushan Fellows may submit the published results of their work that were presented at an academic conference organized by the Ministry or by a body commissioned by the Ministry instead of a mid-term report.

(3) Final reports: Yushan Fellows and Young Fellows may submit their final report together with a renewal application six months before the end of their program period; Yushan Fellows and Young Fellows who do not intend to apply for a renewal shall submit their final report when their program period ends.

3. Review of the reports:

(1) Annual performance reports will be made public on the Yushan Fellow Program website after an administrative review.

(2) The mid-term report shall be subject to anonymous review by scholars and experts recommended by the field-based review committees.

(3) The Ministry will send the final reports together with the renewal applications to the conveners for each discipline and to experts and scholars to review. Final reports from Yushan Fellows and Young Fellows who do not intend to apply for a renewal shall be handled in accordance with the review process for annual performance reports.

(4) The focus of report reviews shall be on the research, teaching, and service performance of the Yushan (Young) Fellows, as well as the implementation effectiveness of the originally proposed execution items, objectives, and support mechanisms set forth in the university’s approved project plan.

4. Results of Report Reviews:

(1) Mid-term reports: If a Yushan Fellow or and Young Fellow fails to achieve their anticipated results, the university will be asked to play a part in improving the situation and a copy of the reviewers' comments will be attached. Details of the improved situation are to be incorporated into the final report and it will be one of the items examined during any renewal application review. This will also be taken into consideration by the Ministry when in future quota allocation to the university and in adjusting the subsidy to the university for the remaining term.

(2) Final reports: The final reports submitted by Yushan Fellows and Young Fellows, together with their renewal applications, will be considered by the Ministry when it is determining whether to approve funding for a subsequent term. The Ministry will do so three months before the end of their respective current appointments. For cases without a renewal application, the final report shall serve as a reference for the Ministry subsequent allocation of application quotas to the university.