In today’s episode of Looking South, Eric Gau chats with Professor Chi-jo Wang from the South Taiwan University of Science and Technology about the University’s industry-academia collaboration project.
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Transcript below:
Eric Gau: Good morning. You are listening to Looking South here on ICRT. I’m Eric Gau, and we are exploring another aspect of the Taiwan government’s New Southbound Policy in today’s episode. Joining us this morning is Professor Chi-jo Wang, from the South Taiwan University of Science and Technology, talking about his school’s industry-academia collaboration project. Professor Wang, good morning.
Chi-jo Wang: Good morning.
Eric: Professor Wang, could you tell us about the automation program that your school is currently running?
Wang: This 2.5 year bachelor degree program has one class and 20 male students from Vietnam. It is the only international industry-academia collaboration program in the Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, abbreviated as STUST. The courses consist of 3 semesters of campus-based education and two semesters of internships focusing on hands-on problem-solving skills and underlying technical knowledge. For the purpose, more than 50 percent of the class time spent in STUST are in laboratories.
Eric: How were the students for the program chosen? Was there any specific criteria or requirements they had to fulfil before they could join?
Wang: STUST recruited the young talent with the help of our partner in the industry and sister universities in Vietnam. We then held face to face interviews with suitable candidates. As for the requirements, all these students in this program already had associate’s degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering.
Eric: How are their studies going? How are they adjusting to life here in Taiwan? Is the school helping to ease the transition of moving from Vietnam to Taiwan and living here?
Wang: I think they are doing great. They have been here for one year, they are working hard with courses and hands-on labs, and during their free time they enjoy campus life a lot. STUST has been offering English-taught degree programs since the year 2005, so we have extensive experience to make international students feel at home by providing English-friendly environments. For instance, all signs and levels in the campus facilities are bilingual, and in every office there’s a designated English-speaking staff member. I think this helps a lot. For this particular program, all professional courses and laboratories feature teaching assistants who are Vietnamese PHD students in engineering. These teaching assistants are very helpful.
Eric: You mentioned that they seem to be having fun living here. Do you know what they’re doing in their off time?
Wang: They go shopping, and they go to enjoy the scenery of Taiwan, just like the other young students.
Eric: What will these students be doing after the program finishes? You said they finished one year already, so there is another year and a half to go?
Wang: Yes. Our partners in the industry believe that the quality vocational/high education of Taiwan can transform these young men into the engineers they need. So this program aims to train future first-line supervisors for our partners’ manufacturing facilities in Vietnam?
Eric: So they have specific companies that are waiting to hire them after they finish their program, or is this generalized for any particular sector?
Wang: Right now we have two companies that we are closely monitoring their offerings, and we have two companies in our mind. But in general, the description I just gave you pretty much shows you what the future employers are hoping to see for the performance from these twenty young men.
Eric: Are there plans to expand this program in the future? Or will there be different programs for students from different countries or with different specialties?
Wang: We have been very careful on the expansion of the programs like this, because of the controversies occurring in other universities. We did received quite a few invitations from our partner universities, some in Indonesia, some also in Vietnam, to work with us in this regard. We will continue listening to the needs of our partners in the industry, and of course we don’t rule out the possibility of expansion in the future, or having different programs.
Eric: You mentioned some controversies that other schools have been going through. I know that there were some that were forcing their students to work in slaughterhouses or things like that. How is your university taking steps to avoid problems like that?
Wang: Basically, we provide loans in the form of living stipends and we provide dormitory rooms also as part of the loan. They can pay off the loan after they receive their internship compensation.
Eric: They are not forced to go to class and work at the same time?
Wang: Not at all. Basically, they don’t need to work. They are focusing on their studies during the past year and one semester ahead.
Eric: What would you say is the greatest benefit of educational programs such as this?
Wang: From my point of view, I would say that many universities in Taiwan have been offering English-taught degree programs and attracting international students to come over and pursue higher degrees since the early 2000s. Most graduates became friends of Taiwan, but the economic impact was limited. Education programs such as this one link the foreign talent and Taiwanese enterprises through internships by design. And if everything goes well down the road, we will include these talents in the Taiwan team, and they will become a part of Taiwan’s strength. In other words, these programs will introduce demographic diversity into the human resources landscape of Taiwan, and in my opinion, the diversity will make Taiwan stronger and better. That is what I say to be the greatest benefit.
Eric: You mentioned diversification here in Taiwan. You also previously mentioned that there are two Vietnamese companies already lined up to hire these students. Does that mean that some of them will be staying in Taiwan to work after their graduation?
Wang: Right now, the students haven’t made up their minds yet. But the internship will be held in Taiwan, and these two potential employers wish them to go to their new facilities in Vietnam, because the manufacturing sector is being expanded due to the recent Sino-US trade war.
Eric: We’ve been chatting with professor Chi-jo Wang from STUST about his school’s industrial-academic cooperation project. Professor Wang, thank you for taking the time to share with us today.
Wang: It’s been a pleasure to be here.
Eric: And that wraps up this week’s installment of Looking South. I’m Eric Gau, and we’ll be back next week with a fresh look at the central government’s New Southbound Policy and how it is benefiting the nation. Thanks for tuning in.