In a survey of international students in Taiwan, which was released on Tuesday, 86 percent expressed a desire to stay following their graduation, with the quality of education and a safe study environment cited as top reasons.
The survey shows that international students in Taiwan are not too concerned about the geopolitical risks — despite China’s constant saber-rattling and threats of war parroted by some candidates — and have positive views about life in Taiwan. This is good for the nation for several reasons. To start with, the government hopes to attract 320,000 international students by 2030, and this positive feedback suggests that it could achieve that goal.
International students could help fill seats in graduate programs at the country’s top universities. A Chinese-language report by the Central News Agency (CNA) published on Thursday last week said that in this academic year, 35 master’s and doctoral programs at Taiwanese universities failed to attract a single student. The report cited universities as saying that admissions standards for the programs were not met, but the country’s declining birthrate means the situation is likely to worsen.
The Ministry of Education in June last year ordered three private universities to close due to financial difficulties stemming from a lack of enrollment, but revenue is not the only concern caused by low admission numbers. Universities need undergraduates to be financially sustainable, and they need graduate students to produce the quality research needed to maintain the institution’s good standing in academia. If a country has no prestigious universities, it would have trouble attracting and retaining talent for its industries, which in turn would hamper the development of those industries.
Taiwan is a juggernaut of the global semiconductor industry, and it has big ambitions in the field of artificial intelligence. The nation’s importance in these fields is crucial not only for the enlargement of the economy, but also to keep the international community engaged on the security threat it faces from Chinese aggression.
Of course, these facts are not lost on Taiwan’s research institutions. National Taiwan University on Dec. 23 last year approved a proposal to set up an international semiconductor program starting this year, CNA reported that day. The program is being implemented under the Act for National Key Fields in Industry-University Cooperation and Skilled Personnel Training (國家重點領域產學合作及人才培育創新條例), and would eventually be opened up to 50 international students annually, the school said.
Regardless of which party is voted in on Saturday next week, they should continue to devote resources to encourage the enrollment of international students. Taiwan could benefit greatly from more international cooperation on academic research, especially in the tech sector, where its strengths lie.
The Taiwanese government has long touted Hsinchu Science Park as the country’s “Silicon Valley.” To make that vision a reality in the eyes of the global community, Taiwan should look at what makes Silicon Valley in California so unique. The key component there is innovation, with thousands of new start-ups appearing annually. Funding is poured into the region from around the world, and — perhaps most crucially — there is a particular attitude and mindset that is prevalent among tech start-ups in California, one which is characterized by risk-taking, following passions and prioritizing them over profit, as well as an openness to collaboration with others.
It is good that Taiwan is opening up to more international students. There is no doubt that these developments would be beneficial both for the nation and the students — where foreign students can learn from Taiwan’s tech prowess, and Taiwan can learn from these students bringing an international culture and work habits that foster that innovation.
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