Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has been recruiting business intelligence analysts. Candidates must have a doctorate in politics, economics, international politics or a similar field; more than four years of experience with and an understanding of statistical analysis, data science or market research; and a grasp of the political and economic trends in US-China relations.
That TSMC is so focused on finding talent with a background in international relations and economics must come as a slap in the face to the Ministry of Education, universities nationwide and many company heads.
The question is: Will TSMC be able to find people with this kind of academic background in Taiwan?
First, the cramming, rote learning, exam-oriented model of education in Taiwan is a major problem, as well as the nature of the content taught.
Second, heads of companies in traditional industries are obsessed with coupling politics and business to maximize profits. In this context, what use would a company boss have with business intelligence analysts?
The high-tech sector is more interested in techies who are continually innovating and the market demand for what they come up with. It does not bother with changes in political trends and economic policies.
As a result, there is next to no demand for business intelligence analysts, and Taiwan’s education system would be hard-pressed to produce this kind of talent even if there were.
Until parents no longer demand that their children get straight As, schools stop clinging to standard course curricula, teachers cease cramming impractical information down students’ throats, politicians stop buying off talk show hosts to spout their untruths and propaganda, and the media desist from distracting from what lies behind political events in Taiwan and abroad, nothing is going to change.
For Taiwan to be able to produce the kind of skillset that TSMC is looking for, society must be more open and enlightened in what schools teach children, and parents must allow them to study what they want, and to accumulate their knowledge and experience according to their own needs.
Otherwise, no matter how many doctorates Taiwan’s universities churn out, the nation will still lack business intelligence analysts with solid theoretical knowledge, as well as practical research on the effects of political trends and economic policies. If schools lack instructors with theoretical knowledge and practical experience, how can society expect academic institutions to cultivate talent with these skills?
Of course, TSMC will find the skilled business intelligence analysts that it needs, because truly exceptional students ignore their parents’ demands, view with disdain the brainwashing that passes for education in schools and reject fabrications in the media.
Such students would have been thinking for themselves from a young age, breaking out of traditional ways of thinking, allowing their creative thoughts to fly, disciplining themselves, rejecting structures forced upon them and striding ever forward.
They would have cultivated for themselves a multifaceted portfolio of knowledge and expertise, waiting for such a time as when TSMC comes calling.
Taiwan should hope that it has more of these exceptional young people, who reject systematic brainwashing in education and who train themselves to be the elite, armed with independent thought.
Society will need them if Taiwan is going to remain competitive in the future.
Tsai Chi-yuan is a retired associate researcher, formerly at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Sociology.
Translated by Paul Cooper
President William Lai (賴清德) attended a dinner held by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) when representatives from the group visited Taiwan in October. In a speech at the event, Lai highlighted similarities in the geopolitical challenges faced by Israel and Taiwan, saying that the two countries “stand on the front line against authoritarianism.” Lai noted how Taiwan had “immediately condemned” the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas and had provided humanitarian aid. Lai was heavily criticized from some quarters for standing with AIPAC and Israel. On Nov. 4, the Taipei Times published an opinion article (“Speak out on the
Most Hong Kongers ignored the elections for its Legislative Council (LegCo) in 2021 and did so once again on Sunday. Unlike in 2021, moderate democrats who pledged their allegiance to Beijing were absent from the ballots this year. The electoral system overhaul is apparent revenge by Beijing for the democracy movement. On Sunday, the Hong Kong “patriots-only” election of the LegCo had a record-low turnout in the five geographical constituencies, with only 1.3 million people casting their ballots on the only seats that most Hong Kongers are eligible to vote for. Blank and invalid votes were up 50 percent from the previous
More than a week after Hondurans voted, the country still does not know who will be its next president. The Honduran National Electoral Council has not declared a winner, and the transmission of results has experienced repeated malfunctions that interrupted updates for almost 24 hours at times. The delay has become the second-longest post-electoral silence since the election of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez of the National Party in 2017, which was tainted by accusations of fraud. Once again, this has raised concerns among observers, civil society groups and the international community. The preliminary results remain close, but both
News about expanding security cooperation between Israel and Taiwan, including the visits of Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) in September and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) this month, as well as growing ties in areas such as missile defense and cybersecurity, should not be viewed as isolated events. The emphasis on missile defense, including Taiwan’s newly introduced T-Dome project, is simply the most visible sign of a deeper trend that has been taking shape quietly over the past two to three years. Taipei is seeking to expand security and defense cooperation with Israel, something officials
RSS