Professor Jia Jhih-da (賈至達) of the Department of Physics of National Taiwan Normal University along with around a dozen other professors took charge of training the Taiwanese team. Team members were selected in four stages: a primary, a semi-final, a pre-game training camp, and a final competition. Nearly 2,900 students took part in the primary competition this year, and only five students were chosen to represent Taiwan. The Taiwanese team went to Kazakhstan on July 12 to participate in the IPhO. The closing and award ceremonies were held on July 20.

Taiwan has participated in the IPhO since 1994, and has performed very well each year. To date, Taiwan has won 55 gold, 21 silver, and 18 bronze medals and eight honor awards, which put Taiwan in fifth place for the last five years.

A list of the team members who won awards follows.

To recognize students’ outstanding performance, the MOE formulated and issued special regulations. The Regulations for Preferred Status Admission to Institutions of Higher Education for Award Holders for the International Mathematics and Science Olympiads and International Science Fair stipulate that those who win gold, silver, or bronze medals in the IPhO can be automatically admitted into related university departments, or recommended for admission to any department. Additionally, those who win a gold medal will receive a 200,000 NT dollar scholarship; those who win a silver medal will receive a 100,000 NT dollar scholarship; and those who win a bronze medal will receive a 50,000 NT dollar scholarship. A student who wins two or more different awards during the same academic year can only apply for the most valuable scholarship he or she qualifies for.

In the future, the MOE will continue to train students and invite the most outstanding ones to participate in international contests, in the hope to promote the country’s international exchanges and expand students’ global perspective. The government will again select the best students to compete in next year’s IPhO, which will be held in India.