China will sponsor 3,025 people in study abroad in 2003 in the fields of science, technology, culture, education and management, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced here Thursday.
The MOE said the application and approval process for government funding would take place from December 23 this year to March 10 next year. Details can be found on the website of the China Scholarship Council (CSC), www.csc.edu.cn.
Chinese citizens complying with the requirements can apply for government-sponsored study abroad.
The CSC will focus on seven research fields in its 2003 working plan: telecommunication and information technology; agricultural high technology; life sciences and public health; material sciences; energy and environment; engineering; and applicable sociology and WTO-related studies.
A special project for advanced research scholars will be set up in 2003. A total of 200 such scholars will be awarded a monthly scholarship of 1,800 to 2,000 US dollars for three to six months.
Study time for visiting scholars has been changed to six to 24 months.
Statistics show by the end of September 2002, China sponsored 12,401 citizens abroad, of whom 9,929 have returned. In 2002, 2,235 out of 4,109 candidates took up government-sponsored study in 57 foreign countries. A total of 800 people attended specific overseas projects.
(Xinhua News Agency December 6, 2002)
