Taipei, Aug. 18 (CNA) Approximately 300 overseas Taiwanese youths presented the results of their summer internships at an academic conference Friday, rounding up the eight-week Taiwan Tech Trek (TTT) 2006 program.
The TTT, organized by the National Science Council (NSC) , is a program in its second year that offers overseas Taiwanese youths hands-on internships at government agencies, non-profit organizations, private companies and special group projects.
"The NSC believes that the program not only provides internships to overseas Taiwanese youths but also helps them to know more about Taiwan, " said Lin Kwang-lung, director-general of the NSC's Department of International Cooperation.
More than 280 interns were selected out of over 1,000 applications collected by Taiwan's foreign agencies, most of whom came from the United States. The program started in late June.
Most of the members are native-English speakers but also have a basic command of Mandarin and Taiwanese, Lin said.
"By working with Taiwanese in local government agencies and companies, the members got to know more about 'the Taiwanese way' and what we are working on right now, " Lin said.
"On the other hand, their employers and colleagues have benefited from their creative ideas and new thinking, " he added.
TTT, with a budget of over NT$30 million and the cross-departmental cooperation of numerous government agencies, is designed to attract talent from overseas, which countries like India and China are also working on, according to Lin.
"We have received pleasing and promising results so far. Two of our 2005 members have been hired by local companies, " he said.
The academic conference was categorized into four groups -- natural sciences, engineering, life sciences and the humanities -- with topics such as cancer studies and Taiwan's strategy for inclusion in the World Health Organization.