To alleviate the impact of declining birth rates on higher education, and technological and vocational education systems in the Republic of China (R.O.C., Taiwan), in 2017 the Ministry of Education (MOE) began to encourage recruiting students from New Southbound Policy countries in order to let students enter the industry environment to both gain practical experience, and to guarantee their income to cover their basic expenditures while in R.O.C., Taiwan. In the current labor shortage environment, the MOE hopes to sustainably cultivate talent and provide solid training for the intermediate skilled labor that R.O.C., Taiwan needs. After the students graduate, regardless of whether they stay in R.O.C., Taiwan or return to their home countries to work at local subsidiaries of Taiwanese companies, they will certainly be high-quality technical talents.

Currently, the nationalities of the overseas Chinese students, students from Hong Kong and Macao, and international students in R.O.C., Taiwan have begun to shift from mainly Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Macao, whose students’ levels of cultural and linguistic adaptability were high enough to be included in mixed ability classes, to Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Malaysian students now making up over half of all overseas Chinese students, students from Hong Kong and Macao, and international students. Now even Indian, African, and Mongolian students appear on campus, so that the language of instruction is currently having a growing impact on learning efficacy. Therefore, institutions must transition accordingly into teaching in English.

In addition, according to Providence University (PU) Vice President of International and Cross-Strait Affairs, Dr. Philip Lin, the majors of overseas Chinese students, students from Hong Kong and Macao, and international students have changed from before the pandemic. Before the pandemic, many overseas Chinese students, students from Hong Kong and Macao, and international students came to R.O.C., Taiwan for its deep culture, democracy, and creative resources and chose colleges of humanities, law, business, and arts majors. After the pandemic, due to changes in industry and geo-economics, the effect of the global village has become stronger, and “overseas Chinese students, students from Hong Kong and Macao, and international students choose business and management, engineering, hospitality, arts, and information science majors because every country greatly needs talent in these specialties.”

Prioritizing Student Rights to Prevent the Chaotic Situation of International Student Education

In April 2022, the MOE took the important step of promulgating the Program to Increase Recruitment of Overseas Chinese Students, Students from Hong Kong and Macao, and International Students in Key Industry Sectors (the Program to Increase Recruitment of Overseas Chinese Students, Students from Hong Kong and Macao, and International Students, for short). By prioritizing students’ rights and interests, the plan aimed to establish a checking mechanism from the source to curb any and all kinds of irregularities.

As PU has been using a modularized model to flexibly recruit international students and provide a complete life counseling and scholarship application mechanism, as well as a comprehensive college or career counseling mechanism, it has gained the trust of Ugandan and Swazi (from the Kingdom of Eswatini) students. PU recruited one student for itself and assisted the MOE in arranging for more than 30 students to be re-matched to other schools and related disciplines while guaranteeing the promise from their original institutions to cover tuition and living expenses so that they could complete their study exchange in the R.O.C., Taiwan worry-free. For this reason, Dr. Lin has been commissioned by the MOE to be the manager of the Program to Increase Recruitment of Overseas Chinese Students, Students from Hong Kong and Macao, and International Students in order to optimize and take account of the New Southbound Policy recruitment and teaching administration of higher education.

Mastering English or Chinese to Pave the Way for Specialization

The MOE’s Program has two key prongs: Key Industry Department Recruitment, for cultivating elite talents, and Establishing International Departments, mainly for training professional technical talents. These aim to return talent cultivation to the heart of education rather than putting the cart before the horse and let education meet the requirements of industry or students’ part-time jobs.

1. Key Industry Department Recruitment: Departments can recruit undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students in the “Five Plus Two Innovative Industries Plan” listed by the National Science and Technology Council, including intelligent machinery, green energy, and biomedicine. Courses are to be taught entirely in English or Chinese, in which students must be able to learn professional knowledge in the language of instruction.

2. Establishing International Departments: Institutions must establish international departments that exclusively handle international students and academic affairs, including exclusive mechanisms for lifestyle adjustments, learning, and guidance counseling. Overseas Chinese students, students from Hong Kong and Macao, and international students are to be recruited into specialized classes, or existing ones in majors related to the six industry sectors of manufacturing, construction, agriculture, long-term care, electronic business (including information processing), and services. Courses will consist of one year of Chinese language instruction and four years of professional courses.

From these two policy prongs, we can see that the MOE has set language thresholds for institutions and students to ensure that students can comprehend the professional knowledge they are taught, maintain higher education quality, and strengthen the Chinese language ability of overseas Chinese students, students from Hong Kong and Macao, and international students. “It’s like the British sixth form,” says Dr. Lin. “Therefore, we hope that students who come through these international departments, after at least 15 hours a week of Chinese instruction, and at least 720 hours in one year, can reach Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TOCFL) level A2, which is equivalent to a high school graduate and the basic level needed to study at university and college. After the sophomore year, they should reach B1.”

Integration of Mainstream and Original Cultures

As most of the disadvantages in the past originated from the opaque agency system, the Program to Recruit Overseas Chinese Students, Students from Hong Kong and Macao, and International Students prohibits working with agencies and will refer for prosecution those who do. Dr. Lin explains, “We worked with the MOE to formulate a verification mechanism. Since the start of the Program, we have conducted 72 unannounced inspections of recruitment, courses, instructors, and student rights at various institutions.” As institutions familiarize themselves with the details of the Program, the MOE hopes to use methods of encouragement, such as granting additional quotas and scholarships to compliant institutions.

“For example, respecting the religion of Indonesian students by providing halal foods, prayer rooms, and other everyday arrangements is a must. We must do this first in order to help overseas Chinese students, students from Hong Kong and Macao, and international students turn the culture shock between the mainstream and original cultures into gradual integration.” Dr. Lin turns to PU as an example. “We arrange counselors and learning partners to help international students adapt more quickly to life in R.O.C., Taiwan, as well as encourage departments to offer courses such as Tourism Chinese that can help enhance international students’ cultural understanding.”

Currently, those in the first classes who have passed the TOCFL test have begun the professional education of their freshman year, entering professional fields of study where the language can be smoothly integrated. Students are free to take part-time jobs, so institutions can link scholarships with academic performance to prevent students from overworking at the expense of their studies. These measures can achieve both economic support and learning efficacy, killing two birds with one stone.

Planning Ahead by Enhancing Support Measures for Staying in R.O.C., Taiwan

Dr. Lin believes that the next step is to think about the plans of these students to stay in R.O.C., Taiwan, and how to plan separately for professional and technical talents.

To take professional talent as an example, many past cases of overseas Chinese students, students from Hong Kong and Macao, and international students offer food for thought. Winnie Swy graduated from the Department of Architecture Art Conservation at National Taiwan University of Arts and is now an administrative assistant there. After graduating, she hoped to stay in R.O.C., Taiwan and work at a firm, but due to the limitations of the work permit application Scoring Criteria on the size of the company, she decided to take the advice of Assistant Professor Chang-Wei Lee to remain as a project assistant in a school where it would be easier to get a work permit. Now-Associate Professor Lee says, “Overseas Chinese students, students from Hong Kong and Macao, and international students from Malaysia and Indonesia perform well, actually. If we can resolve the issues of the scoring criteria, it would create a greater impetus to attract talents to stay in R.O.C., Taiwan.”

Dr. Lin agrees. “Permanent residency” is a big incentive to stay in R.O.C., Taiwan. “Japan and Korea have already gone through the declining birth rate crisis that R.O.C., Taiwan is undergoing; what we’re experiencing, they have already experienced.” Adding new industry sectors to the list, linking scholarships to give back to institutions or companies in the future, and planning across governmental departments to provide systematic support measures for professional and technical talents to stay in R.O.C., Taiwan can encourage and motivate institutions to plan for counseling and career matching for students.

National Taiwan University’s International Mentorship Program values the professional abilities of all overseas Chinese students, students from Hong Kong and Macao, and international students; PU’s Glocal Exchange Fair created a platform that uses a tailored approach to match companies with overseas Chinese students, students from Hong Kong and Macao, and international students. Dr. Lin says, “Not only this, institutions must invite experts who truly understand international education to change administrators’ international mindset and create a virtuous cycle of sustainable talent cultivation.”