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Chapter 4 Key Research Institutes – Organizational Structure & Operations
Article 18
A key research institute shall set up a management committee with between nine and fifteen members, each of whom is not permitted to serve on the committee for more than four years. Apart from the dean of the key research institute and government representatives, the members shall be nominated by the president of the national university and appointed by the university after the supervisory committee has given approval. The members shall select one person to be the convener from among all the members with the exception of the dean of the key research institute.
The management committee shall comprise the dean of the key research institute as an ex-officio member, and government representatives, representatives of full-time teaching and non-teaching personnel, representatives of the key research institute graduate students, and industry representatives. The government representatives and industry representatives shall each comprise one third of the committee.
The government representatives referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be appointed or assigned by the competent authority after being approved by the innovation steering committee; and the competent authority may appoint or assign replacements on a needs basis.
Any member of the supervisory committee or their spouse, or any third degree or closer blood relative, or any third degree or closer relative by marriage is not permitted to serve as a member of the management committee. If such a person is appointed in breach of this provision, the national university shall immediately remove that person from the management committee.
Article 19
The management committee has the following responsibilities:
1. Nomination of the dean of the key research institute.
2. Deliberation over unfitness for office of a key research institute dean.
3. Drawing up regulations governing management committee operations, performance assessment, and other matters that the management committee must comply with.
4. Drawing up the key research institute’s management guidelines.
5. Approval of appointment of members of the industry-university review panel(hereunder abbreviated to “the industry-university panel”).
6. Deliberation over proposed changes to the innovation plan.
7. Deliberation over the key research institute’s annual operations plans and performance reports.
8. Deliberation over or putting forward plans for improvement of the key research institute.
9. Deliberation over plans for a key research institute to continue operating, be closed down, or cease its operations.
10. Deliberation over the provision of a set proportion of the key research institute’s income from its R&D results to the national university each year to use to improve teaching staff, supplement facilities, and for other expenditure for further development of the university.
11. Deliberation over key research institute procurement operations regulations.
12. Deliberation over the key research institute’s student affairs regulations.
13. Deliberation over the key research institute’s regulations governing the appointment, salary, concurrent employment, secondment, reviews of qualifications, dismissal, suspension, and non-renewal of employment of its personnel.
14. Deliberation over the key research institute’s regulations governing implementation of its risk management system.
15. Deliberation over the regulations governing management of the key research institute compilation and implementation of budgets, and compilation of annual financial statements and related financial revenue and expenditure.
16. Deliberation over the regulations governing the key research institute’s teaching quality assurance mechanism(s), evaluation, and related matters.
17. Deliberation over regulations governing the composition and setting up of the industry-university panel, members’ qualifications, length of time members serve on the panel, method(s)of operation, and other compliance matters.
18. Matters, apart from those listed in the preceding 17 subparagraphs, that this Act stipulates that the management committee shall deliberate over.
19. Other powers of office, which do not exceed the scope of the dean’s authority set out in Article 20, and which have been added by a resolution of the management committee.
Copies of the regulations referred to in Subparagraph 3 of the preceding paragraph shall be submitted to the supervisory committee for future reference.
Article 20
A key research institute shall have one dean who has been nominated by the management committee and appointed by the national university after the supervisory committee has approved the nomination. The maximum term served by a dean shall be the same as the maximum term served by the members of the management committee.
The dean shall oversee the overall management of the affairs of the institute in accordance with ordinances and the provisions of the key research institute regulations, implement resolutions made by the management committee, be supervised and assessed by the supervisory committee, and represent the key research institute externally regarding matters within the scope of their position,.
The dean shall be a full-time or an adjunct teacher on the staff of the national university or of the key research institute. The person is not permitted to be someone who works outside the university, in addition to teaching at the key research institute and/or the university.
If there are circumstances making the dean unfit to hold that office, the situation shall be handled in accordance with the following provisions:
1. If found guilty of exploiting an opportunity provided by their position to commit a crime, the dean will be dismissed.
2. If the dean’s behavior is improper or is damaging the image of the key research institute to such an extent that the person is determined to be unfit to hold that office, or if the operating performance of the key research institute is poor, the management committee shall order that action is taken to improve the situation within a specified time limit. If there has been no improvement by the end of the specified time limit or if the improvements made have been ineffective, the national university shall dismiss the dean after at least half of the members of the management committee in attendance at a meeting of that committee attended by at least two-thirds of its members have supported a resolution to do so, and the supervisory committee has given approval, the national university shall dismiss the dean. If the management committee has been negligent handling this matter, the dean shall be dismissed by the national university if a meeting of the supervisory committee attended by at least two-thirds of its members is held and more than half of those attending support a resolution to do so.
The key research institute shall formulate qualifications, selection and appointment method, term of office, reappointment for a further term, and essential criteria for dismissal of the dean referred to Paragraph 1 and other matters that the dean must comply with, and submit the details regulations to the supervisory committee for future reference after they have been deliberated on and approved by the management committee, and these matters are not subject to the provisions of Article 13, Paragraph 2 of the University Act or the provisions of Article 21 of the Civil Service Employment Act.
Article 21
A key research institute shall set up an industry-university panel, with between seven and nine members, one of whom, the dean, shall serve as the convenor. The other members shall be nominated by the dean and appointed by the key research institute after the Management Committee gives approval.
The industry-university panel has the following responsibilities
1. Undertake the duties of the key research institute pertaining to the national university’s teacher evaluation committees at each level that are set out in the Teachers’ Act, the Act Governing the Appointment of Educators, the University Act and other related legislation, including deliberations over the appointment of teachers, reviews of their qualifications, the suspension, dismissal, non-renewal of employment, dismissal with severance pay and other matters.
2. Advise on matters related to the key research institute’s teaching, research, skilled professional personnel training, and industry-university cooperation.
The composition and setting up of the industry-university panel referred to in Paragraph 1, the qualifications of its members, the length of their term on the committee, its operating method, and other matters that the industry-university panel must comply with shall be formulated by the key research institute, and after being deliberated on and approved by the management committee, the details shall be reported to the supervisory committee for future reference, and these matters are not subject to the provisions of Article 20 of the University Act.
Article 22
To assist a key research institute to handle the matters referred to in Article 5, a national university may make the key research institute the management agency of state-owned assets that the university is in charge of.
If the key research institute is closed down or ceases operating, the national university shall become the management agency of the state-owned assets that the key research institute was in charge of.
Article 23
A key research institute’s increasing the number of or making and adjustments to graduate institutes, degree programs, eligibility criteria to sit for PhD entrance examinations, direct entrance into a master’s degree program by bachelor’s degree students, enrolment method(s)and quota(s), prescribed periods for completing programs, and course credits, and the procedure for assessment and recognition of foreign academic records and credentials are not subject to the provisions of Article 12, Paragraph 2 and Paragraph 3 of Article 23, Article 24, Article 26, and Article 28 of the University Act.
The name of each degree conferred by the key research institute, the criteria for conferring each degree, the awarding and registration of the associated degree diploma, the formation of master’s degree and PhD examination committees, and the requirements to become a PhD candidate are not subject to the provisions of Article 3, Paragraph 2 and Paragraph 3, Article 8, Article 9, Paragraph 1 and Paragraph 2, Article 10, and Article 11 of the Degree Conferral Act.
The regulations governing the operations, determination criteria and other related matters of the matters in referred to in the preceding two paragraphs, that are not subject to the provisions of the University Act or the Degree Conferral Act shall be formulated by the key research institute and then reported to the supervisory committee for future reference, after being deliberated on and approved by the management committee.
In principle, if the key research institute is adding another class for a master’s degree program or for a PhD program, it shall only add one extra for the master’s degree program and only one extra for a PhD program. If the competent authority gives approval for the key research institute to continue operating, in accordance with the provisions of Article 12, Paragraph 1, the number of students in the master’s degree and PhD programs may be increased year by year.
Article 24
When a key research institute handles industry-university cooperation matters, the key research institute shall handle the matters that the provisions of the University Act and related regulations stipulate are to be handled by the national university.
Article 25
A key research institute shall provide 10% or more of its revenue from the results of R&D to the national university to use to improve teaching staff, supplement its facilities, and for further development of the university. However, the university may come to an agreement with the key research institute for provision of a higher percentage, for the development of teaching and research and to implement plans for important further development of the university.
The key research institute shall determine the percentage and use of the revenue from the results of R&D referred to in the preceding paragraph and report the details to the supervisory committee for future reference, after they have been deliberated on and approved by the management committee.
Article 26
The provisions of Article 6, Paragraph 1 to Paragraph 3 of the Fundamental Science and Technology Act apply, mutatis mutandis, to the results of key research institute R&D collaborations undertaken with industry without using government subsidies, commissions, funding, or allocations of science and technology research and development funding, and any income that these results earn that are not undertaken in accordance with legislation.
Article 27
Unless a treaty or agreement that Taiwan has entered stipulates otherwise, the procurements that a key research institute needs to make are not subject to the provisions of the Government Procurement Act.
The key research institute shall draw up regulations governing the operations pertaining to the procurement matters referred to in the preceding paragraph. These matters shall include the procurement operational procedures, method(s), avoidance of conflicts of interest, supervision, dispute handling and related matters and, after the regulations have been deliberated over and approved by the management committee, the key research institute shall submit a copy to the supervisory committee for future reference.
Article 28
When handling the matters referred to in Article 5, a key research institute may lease state-owned real estate and moveable property that it manages to a collaborating enterprise for development, construction or operation, establishment of superficies, or use without compensation, without being subject to the provisions of Article 28 of the National Property Act.
The key research institute shall give a detailed account of the scope, mode(s), maximum number of years, use, and other associated matters pertaining to the provision of state-owned real estate and moveable property for use referred to in the preceding paragraph. The key research institute shall report the details to the supervisory committee and the competent authority for future reference, after they have been deliberated over and approved by the management committee, and a written agreement shall be drawn up.
The maximum number of years for which the state-owned real estate and moveable property referred to in the preceding paragraph is provided for use shall not exceed the number of years covered by the plan approved by the competent authority.
When the agreement between a key research institute and a collaborating enterprise expires and it will not be renewed, the collaborating enterprise shall return the state owned real estate and moveable property it was provided to use; the collaborating enterprise’s existing and useable property that was collaboratively operated shall be transferred to the state with or without compensation in accordance with the original agreement, and the key research institute shall be the management agency.
If a key research institute is closed down or ceases operating, all state-owned real estate and moveable property it has provided shall be returned and any agreement made with a collaborating enterprise shall be terminated; the collaborating enterprise’s existing and useable property that was collaboratively operated shall be transferred to the state with or without compensation in accordance with the original agreement, and the national university shall become the management agency.
Article 29
Unless provisions of this Act stipulate otherwise, the rights and obligations of the staff of a key research institute shall be handled in accordance with the ordinances governing education personnel and civil service personnel matters.
The key research institute shall draw up personnel regulations governing the eligibility qualifications, appointment and termination of employment procedures, length of appointment, work or teaching hours, assessments, leave, remuneration, assessments, welfare, retirement, insurance, and other rights and obligations of its contract employees, and after the regulations have been deliberated on and approved by the management committee, a copy of the regulations shall be submitted to the supervisory committee for future reference.
Article 30
A key research institute shall draw up personnel regulations governing the following matters, and after the regulations have been deliberated on and approved by the management committee, a copy of the regulations shall be submitted to the supervisory committee for future reference:
1. The basic salary, seniority pay, and salary bonuses of teachers, professional technicians, and researchers on the staff.
2. Work performance bonuses for office staff on the staff who handle key research institute operations extremely well.
3. The basic salary, seniority pay, and salary bonuses of teachers, professional technicians, and researchers employed by the national university and jointly employed by the key research institute.
4. Work performance bonuses for national university related personnel who concurrently handle key research institute personnel, budget and accounting, and general affairs related administrative matters.
Article 31
A key research institute shall draw up personnel regulations governing the qualifications and method for the selection and appointment of academic directors of subsidiary graduate institutes, academic heads of degree programs, and administrative managers at each level. After the regulations have been deliberated on and approved by the management committee, a copy of the regulations shall be submitted to the supervisory committee for future reference. These regulations are not subject to the provisions of Paragraph 2 and Paragraph 4 of Article 13, and Paragraph 2 of Article 14 of the University Act or the provisions of Article 21 of the Civil Service Employment Act.
Article 32
A key research institute shall select one of the methods set out below to appoint teachers to its staff and include the selected method in its innovation plan. The method shall be implemented after it has been deliberated on by the university council and then reported to and approved by the innovation steering committee. The appointment of the teachers on its staff by a key research institute:
1. is deliberated over and approved by the industry-university panel
2. is deliberated over and approved by the industry-university panel, and then reported to and reviewed and approved by a university council level teacher review committee.
The key research institute shall draw up personnel regulations governing the method of appointment, procedures, initial appointment, renewed appointment, and maximum number of years for long-term appointments of the teachers referred to in the preceding paragraph. After the regulations have been deliberated on and approved by the management committee, a copy of the regulations shall be submitted to the supervisory committee for future reference. These regulations are not subject to the provisions of Article 18 of the University Act; Article 26, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 3, and Article 37, Paragraph 1 of the Act Governing the Appointment of Educators; or Article 10, Paragraph 3 of the Teachers’ Act.
Article 33
When, because of scientific research needs, a researcher at a key research institute must use technology as investment equity or take up a concurrent position, the matter shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 4 and Paragraph 5 of Article 17 of the Fundamental Science and Technology Act.
When key research institute personnel handle matters referred to in Article 5, apart from the use of technology as investment equity or the taking up a concurrent position because of referred to in the preceding paragraph, the scope of other concurrent posts, duties and compliance matters shall be subject to personnel regulations drawn up by the key research institute. After the regulations have been deliberated on and approved by the management committee a copy of the regulations shall be submitted to the supervisory committee for future reference. These regulations are not subject to the provisions of Article 34 of the Act Governing the Appointment of Educators, or the provisions of Article 13, Paragraph 1 and Paragraph 2, and Article 14 of the Civil Servant Service Act.
Article 34
A key research institute undertaking the matters referred to in Article 5 shall draw up personnel regulations regarding the associated employee age limits for appointing a professor or assistant professor who has an international academic reputation or an understanding and mastery of international cutting-edge core technology and also has experience leading an academic or research team to the staff, and a copy of the regulations shall be submitted to the supervisory committee for future reference after being deliberated on and approved by the management committee, and these matters are not subject to the provisions of Article 33 of the Act Governing the Appointment of Educators that stipulate age limits beyond which a person is not permitted to be employed as a full time educator. However, it is not permitted to employ a person who is aged or who will turn 70 years old in the current semester.
Article 35
In accordance with the provisions of the Teachers’ Act and of related legislation, reviews of the qualifications of teachers on the staff of a key research institute shall be undertaken using teacher review committee review procedures and handled in accordance with the following provisions:
1. The industry-university panel shall deliberate over and approve the appropriate qualifications of teachers being employed in accordance with the provisions of Article 32, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 1.
2. The industry-university panel shall deliberate over and approve the appropriate qualifications of teachers being employed in accordance with the provisions of Article 32, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 2 and then submit them to a university council level teacher review committee to deliberate over and approve.
When the provisions of the Teachers’ Act require a national university to report the qualifications of a teacher on the staff of a key research institute to the competent authority to review them, the key research institute shall report the teacher’s qualifications to the competent authority for review.
The key research institute shall draw up personnel regulations governing procedures for reviews of teachers’ qualifications, and a copy of the regulations shall be submitted to the supervisory committee for future reference after being deliberated on and approved by the management committee.
Article 36
Teachers on the staff of a key research institute may request secondment to a profit-seeking enterprise or corporation to work in a position related to their area of teaching or research expertise. The key research institute shall draw up personnel regulations governing secondments, and a copy of the regulations shall be submitted to the supervisory committee for future reference after being deliberated on and approved by the management committee.
Article 37
In accordance with the provisions of the Teachers’ Act, the suspension, dismissal, non-renewal of employment, and dismissal with severance pay of teachers on the staff of a key research institute shall be undertaken using teacher review committee review procedures and handled in accordance with the following provisions
1. The industry-university panel shall deliberate over and approve these matters affecting teachers being employed in accordance with the provisions of Article 32, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 1.
2. The industry-university panel shall deliberate over and approve these matters affecting teachers being employed in accordance with the provisions of Article 32, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 2 and then submit them to a university council level teacher review committee to deliberate over and approve.
If the suspension, dismissal, non-renewal of employment, and dismissal with severance pay of a teacher on the staff of a key research institute, is a matter that the competent authority must report to the competent authority and obtain its approval in accordance with the provisions of the Teachers’ Act, the key research institute shall report the matter to the competent authority for approval.
Article 38
A teacher on the staff of a key research institute who considers that some measure taken by the key research institute that the teacher has personally been subject to is illegal or inappropriate and that it constitutes a violation of their rights and interests may lodge an appeal, and a further appeal with the faculty grievance review committee at each level, in accordance with the provisions of Article 42 of the Teachers’ Act.
If there is no representative of the key research institute among the members of a national university faculty grievance review committee referred to in the preceding paragraph that will deliberate over a case, an additional person shall be appointed to the committee and the normal restrictions on the number of committee members and their term on the committee do not apply.
For other key research institute personnel for whom education legislation may be applied, mutatis mutandis, or for whom such matters are handled with reference to the provisions of the Teachers’ Act regarding appeals, the provisions of the two preceding paragraphs may be applied, mutatis mutandis.
Article 39
Each key research institute shall establish a risk management system and implement its own supervision, and auditing and assessments of personnel, finance, and operations matters; the regulations for the implementation shall be drawn up by the key research institute and a copy of the regulations shall be submitted to the supervisory committee for future reference after being deliberated on and approved by the management committee.
The design of the risk management system shall incorporate the following items, and the key research institute may add more items independently based on management requirements:
1. The setting up of internal controls
2. Control of the environment and risk assessment
3. Control operations
4. Information and communications
5. Supervisory operations
Article 40
A key research institute accounting matters shall be handled in accordance with the accounting system for the national university’s university endowment fund.
Article 41
The budget and annual financial statements of the key research institute shall be submitted to the supervisory committee for future reference after being deliberated on and approved by the management committee, and the national university shall submit these to the competent authority and request it in strict accordance with budget and annual financial statement procedures.
Article 42
The compilation and implementation of the budget of a key research institute, and the compilation of its annual financial statements shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of the Budget Act, the Accounting Act, the Financial Statement Act, the Audit Act, and the related ordinances. However, this requirement does not apply to any key research institute income from sources referred to in Article 7, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 2.
A key research institute shall draw up regulations governing the management of the affairs and income and expenditure of income from sources referred to in Article 7, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 2 and shall submit a copy of the regulations to the supervisory committee for future reference after they have been deliberated on and approved by the management committee.
The financial supervision and management matters of a key research institute shall be handled in accordance with the related provisions of this Act and are not subject to the provisions of Article 5 to Article 11 of the National University Endowment Fund Establishment Act.
Article 43
A key research institute shall draw up a report on its annual operations plan. This report shall incorporate the performance targets, the key annual work focal points, financial planning, risk assessment, expected benefits, and other important matters. The report shall be presented to the management committee to deliberate over, and copies sent to the university council and to the competent authority for further reference, after the report has been approved by the supervisory committee.
Article 44
A key research institute shall present the results of the implementation of its annual operational planning report as a performance report. The performance report shall include details of achievement of the performance targets, benefits, changes to its financial circumstances, reviews and improvements, and other important matters. The key research institute shall present the performance report to the management committee to deliberate over and after the report has been approved by the supervisory committee, it shall send a copy to the university council and to the competent authority for further reference.
Article 45
A key research institute shall set up one or more teaching quality assurance mechanism(s). The key research institute shall formulate regulations governing the teaching quality assurance mechanism(s), associated evaluations, and related matters and submit a copy of these regulations to the supervisory committee for future reference after they have been deliberated on and approved by the management committee.
When the competent authority carries out a university evaluation in accordance with the provisions of Article 5, Paragraph 2 of the University Act, the scope shall include the key research institute.