NTU to recruit 25 foreign students for semiconductor program in 2024

Taipei, Dec. 23 (CNA) A school affairs meeting at National Taiwan University (NTU) approved a proposal on Saturday to set up an international semiconductor program starting 2024, for which it will recruit an initial 25 students from overseas.

Following an initial two-year pilot period, the four-year bachelor's degree program will be opened to 50 foreign students a year in 2026.

NTU said the program proposed under the National Key Fields Industry-University Cooperation and Skilled Personnel Training Act, also known as the Training Act, is aimed at introducing more foreign talent to Taiwan's high-tech industry.

Students -- who must pass a Mandarin proficiency test equivalent to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) B1 level to graduate -- can continue their studies in other research institutes established under the Training Act, or semiconductor-related graduate schools after graduation, according to the NTU.

While the new program is expected to incorporate "academic capacity" from the College of Engineering, College of Science, College of Bioresources and Agriculture, as well as College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, NTU officials said, students from those colleges can be assured that the program will not take up their resources.

NTU President Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) added that those concerns will be discussed during the next school affairs meeting and that a formal application for the program will be submitted to the Ministry of Education.

Taiwan currently produces 90 percent of the world's most advanced semiconductors, with the success of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, often coveted by other nations at a time when the global supply chain is facing challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and growing geopolitical tensions.

Also in Saturday's meeting, a proposal to establish a college of international political economy was passed, despite student and faculty representatives voting in October to shelve plans for the college amid concerns over how it would be funded.

The latest motion was voted 111-5 in favor of its passage and the college could start offering master's degree programs in 2025, Chen told reporters after the meeting.

The college will feature all-English courses and potentially a dean recruited from an internationally renowned institution, Chen said.

Multiple enterprises, including Fubon Financial Holding Co., Cathay Financial Holding Co. and TSMC, have agreed to provide funding for the college, Chen said.

Saturday's approval appears to signal that concerns about businesses funding the school exerting their influence on things such as the hiring of teachers and how courses are taught had been addressed.

A proposal for a similar college was brought up by former NTU President Yang Pan-chyr (楊泮池) in 2016, but it was eventually abandoned as the tuition, which was set at NT$20,000 a year, drew opposition from the students.