Universities in Taiwan are producing talent fully prepared for the industries of the future thanks to funding from the government’s five-year SPROUT project.
In February, two of Taiwan’s most prestigious higher education institutions, National Chiao Tung University and National Yang-Ming University, put the finishing touches to a merger many years in the making. The newly formed National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) combines the campuses in the northern cities of Taipei and Hsinchu, with the former specializing in medicine and the latter focusing on other science and engineering- related subjects.
A 3D printer at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in northern Taiwan’s Hsinchu City. (Photo by Pang Chia-shan)
“Bringing the respective strengths of each institution together means we can integrate resources across disciplines to help build a sustainable model of higher education,” said Chien Jen-tzung (簡仁宗), a professor of computer science at NYCU.
Chien heads the Ministry of Education (MOE)-backed Sustained Progress and Rise of Universities in Taiwan (SPROUT) Project Office at NYCU. Launched in 2018, the five-year SPROUT initiative is the latest in a series of long-term funding projects for higher education development. Institutions such as NYCU as well as 69 other academic and research-oriented universities countrywide are receiving funding under SPROUT, alongside more than 80 vocational schools. To date, the MOE has allocated around NT$15.3 billion (US$546.4 million), NT$16.5 billion (US$589.3 million) and NT$17.4 billion (US$621.4 million) in 2018, 2019 and 2020 respectively to the ongoing project, according to Liang Hsueh-cheng (梁學政), deputy director general of the MOE’s Department of Higher Education.
Learning how to design and build a drone is just one of the many activities on offer for students at NYCU. (Photo by Pang Chia-Shan)
Public and private universities are funded in accordance with submitted proposals aimed at promoting teaching innovation, building connections with local communities and fulfilling social responsibilities, Liang said. Funding is also based on the government’s industrial development strategy, with extra money made available for institutions targeting sectors such as those outlined in the five-plus-two innovative industries program and six core strategic industries. The latter, unveiled by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) during her second-term inaugural address in May 2020, comprises the biotech and medical technology, cybersecurity, green and renewable energy, information and digital technology, national defense, and strategic stockpile industries. Currently, the Ministry of Science and Technology is providing an extra NT$500 million (US$17.9 million) per year for institutions conducting studies on in-demand areas such as advanced solar cells and semiconductor nanotechnology.
Yang Bing-shiang, right, is chair of NYCU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. (Photo by Pang Chia-shan)
Graduate Windfall
Powering cutting-edge research and nurturing the next generation of talent means encouraging more students to continue to postgraduate study. Taipei-based National Taiwan University (NTU) has therefore used its SPROUT funding for extra support of several scholarship opportunities, according to NTU Vice President for Research and Development Li Pai-chi (李百祺). An experienced professor of electrical engineering, Li is glad to see an increased number of pupils choosing to study doctoral programs at his university thanks to these opportunities, which enable students to enter straight into a Ph.D. after graduating. Last year saw a record 118 students recruited onto NTU’s doctoral programs through this channel. NTU is the single largest beneficiary of SPROUT given its status as Taiwan’s biggest university, with more than 30,000 students evenly divided between undergraduate and graduate levels. The school is home to some of the country’s foremost research centers in fields such as green energy materials, precision medicine and artificial intelligence-assisted systems for enhancing public health. “Our goal is to ensure that R&D efforts are being put to good use through industrial applications,” Li said, in reference to the more than 2,000 patents currently held by NTU. It is a task that NTU shares with two other Taipei-headquartered institutions— National Taiwan University of Science and Technology and National Taiwan Normal University, which together comprise the NTU Triangle Alliance. “Each has its own teaching, research and management strengths,” Li said. “But we’re working together to promote innovation and technology transfer.”
Feng Chia University in central Taiwan’s Taichung City (Photo by Pang Chia-shan)
Ready for Work
Building closer links with local businesses is a point of pride for Feng Chia University (FCU) in central Taiwan’s Taichung City, according to Lee Bing-jean (李秉乾), FCU president and a leading board member of the Taipei-based Association of Private Universities and Colleges. The educator is a firm believer in the need for modern tertiary institutions to redefine themselves in a rapidly changing world where universities are no longer considered the authoritative guardians of knowledge and truth, and one where private enterprises often lead the way on R&D. To keep itself on the forefront of the higher education sector, in 2017 FCU joined the Swedenheadquartered CDIO Initiative, which focuses on teaching students how to conceive, design, implement and operate real-world systems and products. Alongside over 120 other member schools worldwide including U.S.- based Massachusetts Institute of Technology, FCU is looking to provide students with the skills needed to transfer classroom learning into a future career path. FCU’s role in promoting the route from academia to industry has helped it earn a sizeable slice of the SPROUT pie.
An experimental space for testing artificial intelligence-assisted self-driving vehicles at FCU (Photo by Pang Chia-shan)
Some projects partly funded under the program include a course in industrial design that sent students and teachers from seven of FCU’s colleges to help at Far East Machinery Co. headquartered in southern Taiwan’s Chiayi City, where they set up a museum to celebrate the company’s 70th anniversary. “Instead of commissioning an agency to organize the event, the steel manufacturer chose to rely on our students because they were so impressed with their capabilities,” Lee said. Taiwan’s universities are set to remain the driving force behind equipping the economy with the necessary talent to deliver sustainable development in high-growth sectors, according to the MOE’s Liang. To that end, the SPROUT project has an important role to play in encouraging the local higher education sector to specialize into target industries and provide students with transferable skills. “Generously funding these institutions is an investment in the country’s future. International students are also benefiting and can help their home countries, building links between Taiwan and the world,” Liang said. “From top-end schools like NTU and NYCU through to smaller private universities, the government is committed to developing a world-class education environment.”
Write to Pat Gao at cjkao@mofa.gov.tw