The Center for India Studies at National Tsing Hua University in the northern city of Hsinchu is a major platform for expanding education, academic and economic ties between Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific powerhouse.
One major task performed by 2017-established CIS is to operate Taiwan Education Centers providing Mandarin learning courses on the campuses of nine universities across India. The schools hosting TECs are helping advance CIS’s mission to strengthen bilateral ties.
CIS also attracts Indian students to Taiwan by holding Taiwan higher education expositions annually. The latest Ministry of Education statistics reveal that the number of degree-seeking Indian youths studying in Taiwan increased from 804 in 2015 to 1,373 in 2021.
Last year, CIS invited 30 academics teaching at Taiwan’s tertiary education institutions to join the newly founded Honorary Advisory Committee of Indian Professors in Taiwan based at NTHU. The center relies on these scholars to set up TECs at their alma maters in India and connect them with Taiwan academics on research projects.
On the economic front, CIS facilitates trade and investment ties in the high-tech sector between Taiwan and India through the “How To Do Business In India” forum targeting Taiwan enterprises interested in, as well as, operating in the South Asian country.
More than 10 such events took place from 2017 to 2019 in major cities of both countries. Indian professionals like lawyers and accountants as well as executives from Indian enterprises are invited to give advice to Taiwan attendees on various topics from technology transfer to talent recruitment.
CIS additionally works closely with neighboring Hsinchu Science Park, the largest of its kind in Taiwan with 412 tenant companies. HSP Bureau officials visit the university regularly to promote employment options at the park for Indian students after graduation, as well as keep park officials up to date on India’s investment environment.
As Taiwan-India relations are entering a new era, and the two sides are seeking deeper ties in various aspects based on mutual trust and shared values, CIS will keep playing a front-line role in advancing related policy measures. (E) (By Oscar Chung)
(This article is adapted from “India Link” in the January/February 2022 issue of Taiwan Review. The Taiwan Review archives dating to 1951 are available online.)
