All State Journal

China is considering extending its young scientists funding scheme to support outstanding young scholars in research programs for up to 15 years, as well as to subsidize the research of some excellent undergraduates.

The Natural Science Foundation of China is exploring offering rolling support to a few selected researchers working on projects funded by the Excellent Young Scientists Fund for another five to 15 years once their current projects end, Dou Xiankang, NSFC director and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said recently.

It is also mulling nurturing research talent at an earlier stage. There are many undergraduates in China’s top universities who need more than the knowledge imparted by teachers, are interested in scientific research, and have the ability to do this, Dou said.

The Excellent Young Scientists Fund bankrolls exceptional young scholars to carry out innovative research in an area of their choice. The fund, which was set up in 1994, used to support 50 scholars each year, but that had increased to around 300 by 2019, and the allowance has also been hiked substantially over the years.

“We plan to pick a few outstanding undergrads and provide them with financial support to carry out scientific research,” Dou said.

“We won’t focus on their achievements when selecting the candidates,” he said. “Instead, we’ll arrange interactive discussions and appoint our recently selected Excellent Young Scientists fellows to assess whether they have a solid basic knowledge of science and enthusiasm for the subject.

“We’ll also offer those selected undergrads the opportunity to attend high-end young scientists’ forums,” Dou added.

Besides offering more support for young scholars, the NSFC is also preparing itself to provide additional financial support for research projects that aim to directly solve industrial problems starting this year, whereas in the past it was mostly tasked with subsidizing basic research and nurturing talent.

“We plan to form two consulting committees with the responsibility of selecting the projects which will receive our funding,” Dou said. “The committees will be mostly comprised of energetic young scientists working on the frontline.

“This is because these people know China’s needs and have the ability to extract the scientific research topics from certain advanced technologies that China urgently need to develop,” he said. “The committees also need enough experts to ensure the screening process is fair.”

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