The Thirty Meter Telescopes’s board says it will increase its support for Native Hawaiian students through its international partners.
The Thirty Meter Telescopes’s board says it will increase its support for Native Hawaiian students through its international partners.
While details are still to be worked out, board President Henry Yang announced Wednesday that Caltech and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences have committed to creating additional educational opportunities.
“Today, it is with enthusiasm and excitement that we announce the intent of our partner universities to establish scholarships, summer internships, graduate program fellowships, and research assistantships in the areas of science and technology for Hawaii’s students,” Yang said in a press release.
Those programs are intended to meet a request from Gov. David Ige that the TMT International Observatory Corp. boost its aid for Hawaiian students.
Other partner universities are considering similar pledges, according to TMT.
TMT is currently providing $1 million a year to benefit science, technology, math and engineering education on Hawaii Island, with $250,000 going to scholarships specifically for Hawaiian students.
The announcement offered few details regarding the additional educational programs, and no mention of how many students might benefit. A spokeswoman told the Tribune-Herald that further information will be available in the next few weeks or months.
Yang said the plan will continue to be fine-tuned.
“As our plan evolves and develops over the next few weeks and months, we anticipate and foresee that within a few years, a significant number of Native Hawaiians will not only gain educational experiences at prominent universities in our partner countries, but also return to Hawaii to carry on the Hawaiian tradition of scientific exploration, technological innovation and environmental sustainability,” he said.
TMT said the Department of Astronomy at the University of Tokyo and Department of Astronomical Science at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan are also encouraging Hawaii students to apply for graduate studies.
“Additional frameworks will be explored to strengthen these ties in conjunction with TMT as well,” Yang said.
TMT is supported by Caltech, University of California, and research institutions in Japan, Canada, China and India.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.