Eighty-six percent of international students are willing to stay to work under a new government policy this year to entice graduates to seek employment in Taiwan, a survey released on Tuesday showed.
The Association of International Cultural and Educational Exchange Taiwan in a news release announced the results of its annual online survey of students attending the Blue Ocean Education Exhibition.
Quality education was Taiwan’s top draw for most respondents at 24.75 percent, followed by a safe education environment (15.4 percent) and opportunities to learn Chinese (14.47 percent).
Photo: Liu Hsiao-hsin, Taipei Times
The benefits of Taiwan’s affordable tuition fees and convenient location were not cited as often, at 10.4 percent and 4.49 percent respectively, despite being promoted as major selling points, the association said.
In September last year, the Cabinet approved a plan to encourage international students to stay in the country by offering scholarships, help securing residency and new industry-academia joint programs.
The government aims to attract 320,000 international students to study in Taiwan by 2030, 210,000 of whom would stay after graduation for employment, boosting the ratio to 70 percent from 40 to 50 percent, the Ministry of Education said.
Asked about the program, 86 percent of survey respondents said they were willing to apply.
About 24 percent said they most value scholarship opportunities at their prospective university, followed by English course offerings at 17.28 percent and teaching quality at 14.45 percent.
As for hopes following graduation, 21.9 percent prioritized entering a suitable field, while 21.6 percent wanted to quickly find work.
The survey showed that students expect studying abroad to help with their career development, association chief executive officer Allen Hung (洪志衛) said.
Hung recommended that universities and language centers provide more admissions information, as well as guidance on finding internships and employment after graduation to attract more international students.
The association collected 2,175 valid responses in the survey between January and Dec. 20 last year for its 2024 International Enrollment Blue Ocean Trend Report.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work