Meet Talent, Meet Taiwan Delegation Visits Houston to Boost Higher Education & AI Innovation
In early 2026, Taiwan’s Ministry of Education undertook a major recruitment drive in the United States—called “Meet Talent, Meet Taiwan”—to bring representatives of twelve leading national universities in Taiwan face-to-face with U.S.-based world-class researchers and scholars. This was part of the Ministry's enhanced Higher Education Talent Sustainability Development and Recruitment Program which incorporates substantial financial backing to provide a competitive salary structure to attract outstanding international people to Taiwan to boost Taiwan’s scientific teaching and research capacity. The Program is a response to a significant projected demographic shift: 20% of Taiwan’s academic workforce will be retiring within the next five years.
On March 3, Administrative Deputy Minister of Education Chu Chun-Chang 朱俊彰, led a high-level delegation, including Dr. Liao Kao-Hsien 廖高賢, Director General of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry officials, personnel from the National Development Council and the National Science and Technology Council, and representatives of leading national universities to Houston for a Meet Talent, Meet Taiwan session. It began with officials giving presentations about the professional work and research environment in Taiwan, and related government policies.
Deputy Minister Chu said in his opening remarks that Taiwan is at a critical stage of research innovation, and the government is committed to providing the long-term resources necessary to expand Taiwan’s global academic presence.
Dr. Liao Kao-Hsien said that the Ministry is allocating approximately NT$700 million each year to the Yushan Scholar Program and flexible salary programs. And beginning this year, an additional NT$6 billion is being allocated to enable universities in Taiwan to help them attract and retain outstanding teaching and research personnel: by enhancing salary structures for both junior and senior scholars; providing competitive incentive packages for newly appointed academic staff; and supporting long-term research development, within a high-tech ecosystem.
Yvonne Hsiao 蕭伊芳, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston, spoke about the strategic alignment between Taiwan and the Houston region. Houston’s expertise in the energy, aerospace, and medicine fields perfectly complements Taiwan’s leading role in the semiconductor and smart healthcare fields. She added that collaborations in these fields support the second goal of President Lai Ching-tea’s National Project of Hope, which is to Transform Taiwan into a Smart Technology Island.
She described Taiwan as a premier destination for long-term career growth where world-class researchers and scholars can pursue ambitious research goals with a high degree of academic freedom. At the same time, Taiwan provides a welcoming environment and world-class healthcare where they can enjoy a high-quality life and set up a permanent home.
After the officials’ presentations, the people attending were able to speak directly with members of the visiting delegation, one-on-one and in small groups, and discuss academic collaboration, research and teaching positions at these leading Taiwanese universities, and long-term career pathways in Taiwan.
