I was an unlikely applicant for the IEA award. I am not an international education specialist and, in fact, I am not very well traveled. Selection as an applicant must have resulted from a convincing argument of the strategic fit to my institution and alignment to goals in our global education office. Those things are all true and I look forward to realizing the many potential opportunities uncovered at the many institutions we visited. Naturally, as I opened the award letter, excitement shifted to fear, which shifted to panic.
Fast forward several weeks. The pace of work and life allowed little time for preparation aside from the occasional disappearing act into the proverbial rabbit hole that is the world wide web. In fact, packing began approximately 12 hours from departure and came on the heels of dealing with some substantive family issues. My anxiety levels were high with little experience navigating international travel and no command of Mandarin. In short, I had positioned myself for a disastrous trip. However, my experience was exactly the opposite.
Fast forward to meeting a few colleagues at a connecting airport, navigating Uber in Mandarin, landing at the hotel in the middle of the night and all with the nervous anticipation of uncertainty for a two-week itinerary with strangers in a strange land. The next day revealed the cohort that would quickly gel into unlikely, but tightknit friends. We were oriented by true and passionate professionals in the FSE office, loaded a bus, and began our adventure with our FSE lead and a travel professional who had no option but become part of our merry band of pranksters. They were up for the challenge. The adventures that followed were profound and life altering.
What did I learn of Higher Education in Taiwan? First and foremost, the investment in education being made in this country is unparalleled. We visited flagship institutions, comprehensive regionals, vocational schools, medical, biotech, and engineering institutions, arts campuses, a Buddhist university, and everything in between. The emphasis on research and commitment to educating the populace is apparent. It is no surprise that we learned much about the education/semiconductor industry connection, but I was surprised to see such a rich ecosystem of support and such a diverse approach to these studies. We saw examples that intersected the blooming technology/AI industry with humanities to contemplate economic impacts, ethics, international relations, supply chain, compliance, etc. We also saw a heavy emphasis on workforce development, especially in the production of semiconductor manufacturing, but also others. I learned that Taiwan already understands how to host international students with as many as half of the students in some programs coming from Indonesia and beyond, and that they are hungry for and have funding to support many more from the US. We visited universities set in mountain villages, the big cities, rural settings, on the beach, and many others offering something for every type student experience. I was pleasantly surprised to see an abundance of opportunity for graduate study in Taiwan with an impressive and emerging number taught in English. I learned that many university faculty received their graduate degrees in the US and are receptive to a variety of research and other forms of innovative collaborations. First and foremost, despite the challenges of encouraging 18-22 year olds from the US to travel to East Asia, I learned that it is exactly the destination in which they would thrive. The educational ecosystem is strong, food options are abundant, outdoor activities abound, public transportation is accessible and easy to navigate, cost of living is reasonable, and, most importantly, the people are amazingly warm and engaging.
I write this reflection several weeks after my return. I find myself missing the country I came to love, it’s people and their culture, and my group of fellow travelers with whom I bonded. To say this experience was impactful is an understatement. I look forward to visiting again the near future, and, hopefully in relation to strategic collaborations underway.
