National Taiwan University (NTU) has approved a proposal to set up an international semiconductor program starting next year.
The university would recruit an initial 25 students from overseas, and after a two-year pilot period, the four-year bachelor’s degree program would be open to 50 foreign students a year, said the proposal, which was approved at a school affairs meeting on Saturday.
NTU said that the program proposed under the Act for National Key Fields 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) aims to introduce more foreign talent to Taiwan’s high-tech industry.
Photo: CNA
Students who graduate — a requirement of which is to pass a Mandarin proficiency test equivalent to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages B1 level — can continue their studies at other research institutes established under the act or at semiconductor-related graduate schools, NTU said.
While the program is expected to incorporate “academic capacity” from the College of Engineering, the College of Science, the College of Bioresources and Agriculture, and the College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, students from those colleges can be assured that the program would not take resources away from them, NTU officials said.
NTU president Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) said concerns would be discussed at the next school affairs meeting, and that a formal application for the program would be submitted to the Ministry of Education.
Taiwan produces 90 percent of the world’s most advanced semiconductors, with the success of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, often coveted by other nations amid global supply chain challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions.
Also at Saturday’s meeting, the university approved a proposal to establish a college of international political economy, despite student and faculty representatives voting in October to shelve plans for it due to concerns about how it would be funded.
The latest motion passed with 111 votes in favor and five against, Chen told reporters after the meeting.
The college could start offering master’s degree programs in 2025 and would feature all-English courses and potentially a dean recruited from an internationally renowned institution, he said.
Multiple enterprises, including Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) and TSMC, have agreed to provide funding for the college, he said.
There were initially concerns that businesses funding the college would try to influence areas such as the hiring of teachers or how courses are taught.
A proposal for a similar college was brought up by former NTU president Yang Pan-chyr (楊泮池) in 2016, but it was eventually abandoned as students opposed its tuition fee of NT$20,000 a year.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
RSS