Taiwan Education Expo Held at the University of Melbourne
The 2026 Taiwan Education Expo, funded by Taiwan’s Ministry of Education, was held at the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne on May 2. It was organized as a collaboration between the Education Division at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Australia, and the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne. The Education Division was also given assistance and support by Dr. Yang En-Cheng 楊恩誠, Executive Director of the Science and Technology Division of TECO, and its Policy Officer, Chang Hao-Wei 張皓惟, and the Taiwanese Student Associations at the University of Melbourne, and at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University).
The Expo gave registered attendees an opportunity to chat directly with representatives of eight major universities in Taiwan, either in person or online, to gain a better understanding of the range of study opportunities and scholarships that are available, and see how Taiwan could be a part of their future study plans.
The eight universities in Taiwan that took part in the Expo already have collaborations with local Australian universities: Feng Chia University, Fu Jen Catholic University, National Cheng Kung University, National Chung Hsing University, National Taiwan Normal University, National Taiwan University, National Tsing Hua University, and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. Each university holds particular discipline strengths and they each set up a stall area where the attendees could chat with university representatives and alumni who are currently studying or working in Australia.
The Taiwan Education Expo attracted a wide range of people interested in Taiwan’s culture, industry, and study opportunities. Among the dignitaries were Louise Kinnaird, Executive Director of the Secretariat of the Asia-Pacific Association of International Education (APAIE), and Lucinda Malgas, the Secretariat’s Global Engagement Manager for the Asia Pacific Region; Dr. Guei-Sheung (Rick) Liu 劉貴玄, Head of Genetic Engineering Research at the Centre of Eye Research Australia (CERA); and Brent Moore, former Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner at the Australian Office in Taipei, and an active member of the Australia-Taiwan Business Council.
Ray Ming-Tse Lu 呂明澤, the Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office branch in Melbourne, Rowan Callick, vice-chair of the Australia-Taiwan Business Council, and Dr. Craig Smith, an associate professor at the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne welcomed everyone and gave opening remarks about the advantages of studying in Taiwan.
The attendees included staff and students from the University of Melbourne, Deakin University, and Monash University, high school students, and some of this year’s New Colombo Plan (NCP) scholarship holders who selected Taiwan as their study destination, and recipients of Huayu Enrichment Scholarships who’ll be travelling to Taiwan to study Mandarin Chinese later in 2026 intake also came along to meet representatives from TECO and their future study institutions. The high school students were generally interested in future opportunities in Taiwan’s leading technology sectors, while many university students asked about exchange programs and PhD programs.
The Education Division also invited two students to talk about Taiwan and what it's like to study and live there: Bukut Qalavangan from Taiwan, a member of Taiwan’s indigenous Bunun people who’s currently undertaking a Master of Public Health program at the University of Melbourne, and Davidson Yue, a former New Colombo Plan scholar who studied at National Taiwan University.