Talent Recruitment Forum in the UK Encourages People to Return and Work in Taiwanese Universities
Dr. Lin Po-Chiao 林伯樵, Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Education, travelled to Britain and Germany in July, accompanied by a delegation of senior officials representing 12 leading universities in Taiwan: National Central University, National Chengchi University, National Cheng Kung University, National Chung Hsing University, National Sun Yat-sen University, National Taiwan University, National Taiwan Normal University, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, National Tsing Hua University, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Kaohsiung Medical University, and Taipei Medical University.
A recruitment forum, organized by the Education Division of the Taipei Representative Office in London and held at Woburn House in London on July 20. The purpose was to encourage international scholars and researchers to consider returning to Taiwan and contributing their expertise to Taiwan’s academic sector. It detailed ideal career paths available for PhD students who were about to graduate and post doctorate researchers in a wide range of academic and research fields to immediately pursue, and for current master’s degree students to keep in mind as a future option.
The recruitment forum attracted approximately 80 scholars and higher degree students, spanning disciplines from the humanities to the hard sciences. Dr. Lin opened the forum, giving details of the ministry’s recruitment policies which include a strong emphasis on encouraging more highly-skilled Taiwanese scholars overseas to return to Taiwan and contribute their expertise. He outlined the Yushan Fellow Program which provides generous support for foreign academics who boost Taiwan’s teaching and research capacity, and two scholars who have benefited from the Yushan Fellow Program and are now working at universities in Taiwan addressed the forum remotely, speaking about their personal experiences of returning to Taiwan.
After this, senior officials of the twelve universities each gave a brief outline of what their own university had to offer in various fields, and then the participating scholars and students were able to mingle with the university officials individually and talk with them about potential employment and research possibilities.
The trip to Britain and Germany by Chief Secretary Lin Po-Chiao and the delegation of senior officials representing leading universities in Taiwan is part of a broader push by Taiwan to recruit people to address an anticipated shortage of academic and research staff across disciplines, and to also continue to forge strong ties for future scholarly and research exchanges.
