The Ministry of Science and Technology in China will form a newindependent watchdog to oversee funding for scientific research inthe country, state media reported Monday.
The move follows high-profile academic scandals earlier thisyear that left China’s innovation and research efforts with egg onits face. Shanghai Jiaotong University dismissed the dean of itsSchool of Microelectronics after he passed off re-marked FreescaleSemiconductor Inc. microchips as his own original research.
In March, a professor from China’s Tsinghua University, one ofthe country’s top institutions of higher learning, was removed fromhis position for faking his academic credentials.
The Ministry will also introduce new regulations regarding theuse of scientific funding, along with evaluation of research bythird parties, the state-run newspaper China Daily reported on itsWeb site.
China’s 11th five-year plan — the central government’s roadmapof the country’s goals and resource allocations for that period –includes an emphasis on “independent innovation,” designed to makeChina less dependent on foreign technology standards. The 11th planwas approved in March by the National People’s Congress, China’sprimary law-making body.
