Liberty Times (LT): How should the nation approach its declining birthrate and talent poaching by other nations?
Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀): There has always been international competition. While the incentives offered by China are undoubtedly politically motivated, I have never liked seeing the public become uneasy about Taiwan’s higher education due to naysayers. I think it’s irresponsible commentary.
The movement of skilled people around the globe is inevitable and it is also necessary for young academics to visit other nations, build up experience and expand their social circle. We should encourage students who want to study abroad.
Photo: Chang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
China claims to have attracted more than 10,000 Taiwanese students, but, in comparison, Ministry of Education data show that about 60,000 Taiwanese students are studying in other countries, while more than 30,000 apply for student visas in Taiwan every year.
There are 117,000 foreigners studying in Taiwan.
With economic development and parents becoming more open-minded, the age for students studying abroad will inevitably drop to high-school age.
While the increasing number of students in China is emphasized, the public should be aware that the number of students in North America and Europe is also increasing.
Isolated cases are being exaggerated and the government, as well as the academia, must have a better grip on the numbers of students traveling internationally and on trends, so that the ministry could react in a timely manner.
LT: What are Taiwan’s strengths and weaknesses compared with Hong Kong and China?
Cheng: Taiwan is a small nation. It does not have many natural resources, but it has quality talent. It is predictable that the international community would want to poach talented people from Taiwan. That shows that the nation has good higher education.
Typically, most internationally mobile people are young academics in their 30s or 40s. Some are concerned that the declining birth rate could result in fewer teaching and research positions. The incentives from China, the higher salaries there and the larger Chinese market are also factors.
The language and culture in Taiwan and China are similar. However, many jobs in China and Hong Kong are on two or three-year contracts. These positions are less stable [than those in Taiwan]. When making global comparisons, people should look at the overall environment.
Taiwan’s higher education environment is actually of better quality. It is also a free and open society. It has democratic campuses and Taiwanese academia is free of interference. These are all advantages.
There is also a strength that is less frequently discussed. Although Taiwan is a small, its industrial environment and society are highly diverse. It is easy to obtain resources and develop industrial applications.
In terms of research and development capabilities, college professors here have more resources and opportunities to put their work into practice.
The north, center and south are all capable of forming scientific research hubs for specific industries. Different research fields can find industrial cooperation and support in close proximity.
If you mark a 50km radius around National Sun Yat-sen University, it would cover the Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學工業園), which includes parks for semiconductors, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering and software.
For humanities and social science research, there is [Kaohsiung’s] Namasiya District (那瑪夏) and Hamasen area (哈瑪星), and other groups and communities. There are also large banks that offer opportunities for financial research.
In the US, if you want to talk about semiconductors you must go to Silicon Valley. If you want to talk about finance, you need to go to Wall Street. The US hoped to create an “optics valley” in Florida to push for research in optics, but obtaining materials and organizing industry cooperation in the area turned out to be challenging.
In Hong Kong, everyone is focused on finance and international trade. In the fields of science and engineering it is difficult to find industry support.
A teacher went to Hong Kong to research semiconducting coatings and to lecture there, but found that a machine that cost NT$1 million [US$33,331 at the current exchange rate] in Taiwan needed to be purchased for more than NT$6 million from Europe or the US. On top of that, there was no maintenance staff.
The public is less familiar with this kind of comparison. Similar problems exist in China. When making global or cross-strait comparisons, people must assume a broader and deeper perspective.
The same goes for Taiwanese studying abroad. Students and parents who choose China mainly consider that the language is similar and are optimistic about the job market.
However, they should beware that there are good and bad colleges in China and they should not underestimate Taiwan’s higher education, which is of good quality.
Taiwanese institutions in many specialized fields have a better international reputation than China’s, which would benefit people who want to go to Europe or the US.
More importantly, apart from international rankings, colleges need to emphasize their unique selling points and strengths to help students decide.
LT: Does Taiwan’s higher education require structural changes to increase the competitiveness of the nation’s students?
Cheng: As long as we address the issue of international competition, and the coming and going of Taiwanese students, optimistically, we have nothing to fear.
We must consider how to attract people who have left abroad. Even if they choose to stay and raise a family abroad, the government should seek alternatives to make such a decision reflect positively on Taiwan.
For example, public scholarships for studies abroad should be expanded and include a requirement that recipients return to Taiwan for a number of years.
The government should offer students and established academics chances to go abroad for further study or research on the condition that they return after, say, two or three years.
After their return, they would help the government in whichever field they excel in, such as biotechnology or green energy, and help introduce the advanced technology they learned abroad.
Should they decide to pursue a career overseas, they should be persuaded to return to Taiwan to teach and help foster talent or to help upgrading industries.
Sending teachers to teach overseas could help attract foreign students and could be a solution to the surplus of teachers caused by falling birthrate.
Renowned universities in the US and Europe do this, collaborating with universities in Asia to teach courses that help attract students to their schools.
Local research universities could try such methods.
We also need more jobs and a better work environment.
For example, even public colleges employ part-time professors. The government should encourage or require schools to hire full-time lecturers, offering more opportunities for younger academics, which could help them feel more secure about their jobs.
We must strive to find what we are best at while emphasizing our uniqueness. Taiwan’s higher education is doing its best to keep up with the times, and it should be given more support.
Translated by staff writers Sherry Hsiao and Jake Chung
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