Foreign nationals looking to study abroad are increasingly drawn to courses related to information and communications technology (ICT), the Association of International Cultural and Educational Exchange Taiwan said in a report released yesterday.
The preference for the field rose to 15.5 percent this year from 14.7 percent last year, reflecting the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) on study choices, the association said.
Foreign students continued to show less willingness to study education, humanities and arts, and social sciences, while business and management — traditionally one of the most popular fields — also showed a downward trend, it said.
Photo: Screengrab from the Web site of the Association of International Cultural and Educational Exchange Taiwan
The report on international recruitment trends examines how the global wave of AI is shaping international students’ preferences.
The report was based on an online survey conducted throughout last year, with 3,700 non-Taiwanese respondents from 97 countries, who had an interest in Taiwan and planned to pursue an academic degree abroad, or who intended to study Mandarin in Taiwan, the association said.
It said 53.2 percent of respondents knew that “TSMC,” which supplies most of the world’s most advanced chips, is a Taiwanese company.
Many students said they were confused by a lack of detailed information, including scholarship amounts, the report said.
The association said 22.7 percent of respondents hoped to secure employment quickly after graduation, while 22 percent said they wanted to enter industries suitable for their skills.
Taiwan has historically struggled to compete with the US and Europe in global higher-education visibility, association chief executive office Allen Hung (洪志衛) said.
Past surveys found that more than 80 percent of international students did not understand Taiwan’s higher-education strengths, Hung said.
Amid the global AI wave, local universities can take advantage of Taiwan’s position in the AI and semiconductor industries by linking school and department names with related keywords, which could help attract prospective international students and strengthen brand recognition, he added.
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