Presenters in the online Study in Taiwan forum

SOAS hosts Study in Taiwan activities each year, informing students, academics and others about scholarships, research funding, and opportunities to work and travel in Taiwan. This year, however, the Coronavirus pandemic has led to gatherings being prohibited throughout the UK, and so the evening information session was held online, on Wednesday 27 January, and personnel from the Taipei Representative Office in the United Kingdom took part.

Mr. Kelly W. Hsieh, Taiwan Representative in the UK welcomed everyone, and Mr. Ken Yang, Director of the Consular Division, then gave an outline of the Youth Mobility Scheme and the MOFA Taiwan Fellowship program.

Ms. Canny Liao, the acting Director of the Education Division, and her colleagues then gave a presentation outlining key aspects of the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship program— for people to study the Chinese language for up to a year—and the Ministry of Education Taiwan Scholarship program—to undertake a degree in Taiwan—and the respective application procedures for each.  

Dr. Dafydd Fell, the director of the SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies and Dr. Chang Bi-Yu, the deputy director, then conducted a lively Q&A session, during which the participants could interact with the speakers.

This was the first information session that’s been held virtually but the new format turned out to be extremely successful. The online platform allowed greater numbers to take part from their homes than had ever been able to attend the in-person sessions. More than fifty people registered and participated, including many from other countries in Europe, outside the UK. The Education Division is now planning more similar events with other UK universities.