The Ministry of Education (MOE) is recruiting more people interested in teaching Mandarin overseas. The recruits will participate in a training program that begins on August 13. They will then be sent to fill positions at schools in other countries, largely in France, Germany and Russia. The education ministry expects that nearly half of the recruits will be sent to Southeast Asian countries. The teacher training program will impart new skills that the participants can use both in and out of the classroom. It’s not just about teaching methodology, but also cultural acclimation.  This is the second training program scheduled for this summer. The first round of training this summer was for people who were sent to the United States. The education ministry says it’s hoping to train a total of at least 374 teachers this year, an increase of 10% over last year’s total.  

Jakarta, July 25 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Education (MOE) opened a Taiwan Education Center Thursday at Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) in Bantul, Indonesia, to provide students in the country with information about studying in Taiwan.This is the the third such center Taiwan has opened in Indonesia.To increase the enrollment of Indonesian students at Taiwan's schools and promote the visibility of Taiwan's tertiary education, the MOE has also established Taiwan Education Centers at Krida Wacana Christian University in Jakarta and Airlangga University in Surabaya.UMY President Gunawan Budiyanto said he was pleased to see Taiwan set up an education center at the university, adding that UMY maintains longstanding cooperative ties with many universities in Taiwan and its students will now be able to obtain first-hand information about studying there.He also expressed hope that UMY and the center will promote academic exchanges in the future to make the university an international education hub in Central Java.Meanwhile, Taiwan's representative to Indonesia, Chen Chung (陳忠), thanked UMY for supporting the establishment of the center.Chen said the focus will be on promoting Taiwan's high quality tertiary education and Chinese language teaching in Central Java, while also assisting Indonesian schools or institutions at all levels offer Chinese language courses, stepping up efforts to recruit Indonesian students to study in Taiwan and enhancing academic exchanges between the two countries.During the opening ceremony, Ou Shu-fen (歐淑芬), head of the education division of Taiwan's representative office in Indonesia, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Gunawan to enhance bilateral exchanges and cooperation.In the 2018-2019 school year, 11,812 Indonesian students were studying in Taiwan, making the country the fourth largest source of international students nationwide, the office said, adding that the establishment of the Taiwan Education Center will help attract more Indonesian students, increase Taiwan-Indonesia exchanges and further build the brand and reputation of "Study in Taiwan."

A group of Malaysian education officials was in Taipei on Monday on an exchange program organized by the Ministry of Education (MOE) aimed at promoting greater cooperation on Chinese language instruction and expose them to language classes.The ministry is hoping to use the program to continue expanding cooperation with Malaysia in the field of Chinese language teaching, certification, and teaching material development, it said.Another key goal is to attract more Malaysian students to study in Taiwan and encourage Malaysians to recruit Taiwanese to teach Chinese in schools in the southeast Asian country.Speaking at the opening of the 2019 Malaysia Mandarin Training Program at National Taipei University of Education, MOE official Huang Wei-yu (黃薳玉) called Taiwan an ideal place for learning traditional Chinese characters because people get to connect with traditional Chinese culture in a free and democratic society.Taiwan currently has 60 Mandarin learning centers, and several of them also provide language proficiency tests for foreign nationals, said Huang, who is with the MOE's Department of International and Cross-strait Education.Huang expected that Taiwan's curriculum, faculty and teaching materials would be able to meet all of the Chinese-language education needs of Malaysia.The 13 officials, invited by the MOE, are currently in Taiwan on a week-long visit, where they also plan to visit the Wenshan School of Special Education, Jinwen University of Science & Technology, Yangmingshan National Park, and National Palace Museum.According to an MOE statement, there were 16,717 Malaysian students studying in universities or colleges in Taiwan in 2018.

Today the TECC in India awarded the Taiwan Scholarship and the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship to 79 Indian students and wished them luck with their studies in Taiwan. The Representative Ambassador of the Republic of China, Tien Chung-Kwang, announced events with prizes and encouraged Indian students in Taiwan to strengthen the connection. Today the Education Division of the TECC in India hosted a ceremony for awarding the 2019 Taiwan Scholarship and the MOE Huayu Enrichment Scholarship. The head of the Education Division, Chen Li-Ying said this year, 45 Indian students have received the Taiwan Scholarship for studying in Taiwan, which is five more recipients than that of last year. Chen also remarked, 34 Indian students have been awarded the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship to learn Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan this year; the number of recipients remains the same as that of last year.Tien Chung-Kwang stated in his speech before the bestowment of the awards, about 2,398 Indian Students are currently studying in Taiwan, which is 45% more than that of the year 2018, and exemplified the connection between the young people of India and Taiwan’s education system. More Indian students this year have applied for scholarships to study in Taiwan.He said, compared to three years ago, the number of recipients of the Taiwan Scholarship provided for Indian students has increased from 12 in 2016 to 45, and the amount has increased from INR 30,000,000 (approximately NTD 13,530,000) in 2016 to INR 130 million this year, an increase of fourfold.In terms of the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship, Tien said the total learning time has increased from 96 months in 2016 to 192 months this year. In contrast, the amount of grant increased from INR 4.8 million (about NTD 2.16 million) to INR 9.6 million, doubled the amount three years ago.Tien Chung-Kwang expects to see more and more Indian students studying in Taiwan, which serves as the bridge for strengthening Taiwan-India relations. To encourage Indian students in Taiwan to participate in the student’s association, and add subscribe button on Facebook account, for strengthening the connection and communication between youth from India and Taiwan, Tien has announced that all Indian students who are studying in Taiwan may participate in the prize-giving event as long as they uploads photos taken on Double Ten National Day to the official account of the Student’s Association. Tien said the TECC in India would organize a jury to select three outstanding photos, and the winners will receive smartphones that are made in Taiwan. This garnered applause from all the students.Vasanthan Thirunavukkarasu, a recipient of the 2014 Taiwan Scholarship, studied for a nanometer related doctorate program at the Academia Sinica Taiwan. He along with two Mandarin Chinese teachers who have just returned to India from the Training Workshop for Mandarin Chinese Teachers in Taiwan, Shubhesh Kumar and Ringngam Lamkang Sankhil, have been invited to share their fabulous experiences in Taiwan, including the kind and warm-hearted hospitality of local people, the great environment, the awesome food, clothing, housing, and transportation.Vasanthan Thirunavukkarasu said, if one intended to study for a degree in science like him, then Taiwan is the destination for overseas study since it possessed vanguard technology. And while he was studying for a doctorate in Taiwan, thanks to Academia Sinica, Vasanthan was able to participate in conferences that took place in many countries, which facilitated the communication and connection with global academia.The Indian students awarded the scholarship this year are anticipating to experience the new life of studying in Taiwan, they gathered around Vasanthan Thirunavukkarasu and the other two guest speakers to ask questions about Taiwan and took pictures with Tien Chun-Kwang. (origin from:CNA)

To encourage outstanding Malaysian students to study in Taiwan, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has set up the Taiwan Scholarship and the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship. The MOE has awarded 47 students this year, which exemplified the importance of Malaysian students to the Taiwan government and as they have deepened the Taiwan - Malaysia relation in the aspect of talent exchange. The Representative Anne Hung of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia awarded scholarships and certificates to students in "The MOE Taiwan Scholarship and the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship Pre-departure Orientation and Award Ceremony."She said in the ceremony that the MOE had raised the number of recipients of the Taiwan Scholarship from 20 to 30, in expectation to encourage more students of excellence to study in Taiwan and concentrate on their study. By this, they will be able to contribute things they have learned to Malaysia after studying in Taiwan.Hung also pointed out that among these 35 students, 15 have applied for bachelor’s degrees, 15 applied for their master’s degrees, and 5 for doctorate degrees, the primary area of studies include Chinese, engineering, and mass communication. It is significant to note that all the recipients of the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship are students of Malay ethnicity.She believed this would help Taiwan society to have a better understanding of Muslim and Malay culture.She said training in Chinese and the experience of studying in Taiwan would be precious for future career development as well as a life-long experience. She encouraged more students of Malaysia to apply for the Taiwan Scholarship and the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship so they can experience the democracy, freedom, and the unique lifestyle of Taiwan.Liyana, a doctorate applicant who has been accepted by the National Ocean University, said in the interview that she was always interested in the Chinese language. Having traveled to Taiwan for an environment that encompassed the Chinese culture has helped her to use Chinese more fluently.Huang Yang-Hung, who has applied for a mechanical engineering degree, thought that in comparison with Malaysia, Taiwan possessed vanguard resources and is a place favorable for development in the field of scientific research; thus, he wished to study for more in-depth knowledge and expertise in Taiwan.Xu Xin-Mei, the pharmacist who has applied to study Medical Informatics, said that compared to Malaysia, Taiwan is in a top place in the area that links technology and medical care, especially with integrated cloud service which facilitates the use of data in statistical analysis. Therefore, coming to study in Taiwan is definitely a precious opportunity for learning. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia has selected more than one hundred outstanding Malaysian students to study in Taiwan in the past 15 years. These scholarship-awarded students with the excellence they performed in various fields in Malaysia after they have finished their studies in Taiwan have served as the bridge for the communication between Taiwan and Malaysia.The number of students of Malaysian nationality study at institutes of higher education in Taiwan is on top of the list of the international student body, around 16,717 in the 2018 academic year and ranked on top of ASEAN countries, which showed that the higher education of Taiwan is appealing to Malaysian students.The head of the Education Division, Chang Chia-ling remarked that the higher education in Taiwan is highly developed with good quality of teaching. With a safe and secure society which provides convenience and amenities that make transportation and life easy, Taiwan is easy to adapt to and a friendly country for students of both Chinese ethnic and non-Chinese ethnic to study.The MOE Taiwan Scholarship is available for students intending to obtain their bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate degree in Taiwan. Each successful applicant will receive a maximum of NT$ 40,000 for each semester as a subsidy for school fees, and NT$ 15,000-20,000 for living expenses.Whereas the MOE Huayu Enrichment Scholarship is for encouraging students to come to Taiwan for short term study of Mandarin Chinese, that grant students NT$ 25,000 monthly during their study in Taiwan, the period of study is no longer than a year.(origin from:CNA)

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has made "Pass the exam of Chinese proficiency by international students" and related criteria, as bases for examining the outcome of New Southbound Programs, since the 2019 academic year. The MOE even offered Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL) Teacher Training Courses for the first time in July, to help teachers to improve the Chinese competency of their students. Today, the MOE expressed in a news release that due to the demand for training professional and technical personnel by countries covered in New Southbound policy, the MOE has consigned institutes of higher education to offer Industry-Academia Collaboration Program for International Students since 2017. With the expectation to lead universities and colleges in expanding a solid educational exchange with ASEAN and South Asian countries in order to enhance the bilateral interaction and relations of the alliance. The MOE stated, “Mandarin Chinese” is most critical among all of the New Southbound education policies since Chinese proficiency is the essential requirement for taking the exam for occupational certification by foreign students. Thus, the MOE evaluates the outcome of each school’s New Southbound Programs according to the criteria of “Pass the Exam of Chinese proficiency by International Students” and “Receiving of Occupational Certification” since 2019. To implement the policy of Chinese Education for Students from the Countries Covered in New Southbound Policy, MOE has promoted the project of Resource Center for Mandarin Chinese Teacher in hopes to enhance the Chinese competence of international students from the Industry-Academia Collaboration Program and to help them to adapt quickly to life and the culture in Taiwan. The MOE held the first “TCSL Teacher Training Courses” in July, which is an empowerment program for Mandarin teachers. The program aims to further establish the advising mechanism and correspondent network to assist teachers in raising the teaching quality and to help international students of the New Southbound Program to improve their Chinese ability. The "TCSL Teacher Training Courses" offered Mandarin teachers of the New Southbound Programs customized training courses as well as programs such as Classroom Counseling Skills, and Counseling and Appeals, etc. The program is meant to enable teachers to help international students of the New Southbound Program to adapt to the learning environment. The counseling and consultation mechanism will be available even after the training to ensure the teaching quality of every trainee.(origin from:CNA)