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.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS