French office to hold talk in Hsinchu to celebrate female scientists

Taipei, Nov. 29 (CNA) The French Office in Taipei is kicking off a series of science talks around Taiwan with the first event set to be held in Hsinchu City next week on the theme of "women in science."

The event, the sixth edition of a program called "Science Bubble Tea," will be held at Hsinchu Railway Art Village next Wednesday evening, the first time such a talk has been held outside Taipei, French representative to Taiwan Franck Paris told a press event in Taipei on Wednesday.

Two female scientists, Maud Vinet from France and Zan Hsiao-wen (冉曉雯) from Taiwan, have been invited to talk about their research and share their experience working in the science and technology sectors, Paris said.

According to the office, Vinet is a quantum physicist who co-founded Quobly, a company that develops quantum computers based on silicon spin qubits, in 2022.

The company raised 19 million euros (US$20.88 million) in its seed funding round that same year, added the office, which represents the Elysée Palace's interests in Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic relations.

Meanwhile, Zan, a photonic physics researcher at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University based in Hsinchu, won the Franco-Taiwanese Scientific Grand Prize in Paris in 2022 and currently holds nearly 80 patents for inventions, the office said.

Through the sharing of such role models as Vinet and Zan, it is hoped that attendees, especially female students, will be encouraged to pursue studies in science, Paris said, noting that women are "under-represented" in science in Taiwan and France.

The event is also part of the office's effort to "scale up" scientific links between Taiwan and France, said the newly appointed envoy, who has pledged to make science and innovation "the focus of the relationship between France and Taiwan."

Taiwan and France share "a taste for creativity and innovation" and both have "a long-standing history of cooperation in science," he said.

France has developed partnerships with democracies such as the United States, Japan and other European Union nations, he said, adding that his office aims to bring its scientific ties with Taiwan to "at least the same level as we have with these partners."

Speaking of its plans for future Science Bubble Tea events, Paris said the office is looking to organize a talk once every three months in different cities in 2024, with the hope of making the scientific development of France "more visible" to people around Taiwan.

The first Science Bubble Tea talk on neurosurgery was held virtually in August 2022, with the following four in-person events held in Taipei.