National Tsing Hua University’s Center for India Studies is providing a key platform for Taiwan to foster ties with the South Asian powerhouse.
The year 2018 opened a new chapter in the life of 23-year-old Arushi Singh. Though she did not realize it at the time, the pivotal moment was her decision to enroll in Mandarin courses at the Taiwan Education Center (TEC) at Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI)—one of India’s top-ranking national universities—in New Delhi. She quickly fell in love with the language, and in the fall semester of the following year, Singh pursued further studies in Taiwan, a place she had never dreamed of visiting prior to embarking on her Chinese-learning journey.
Indian students at Tsing Hua celebrate Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights. (Photo courtesy of CIS)
“Before TEC, I had very little impression of Taiwan, except for Taipei 101,” she said, referring to the iconic building in Taipei City. “But today I’ve developed a profound interest in the country and its people.” After more than a year at the Chinese Language Center of National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) in northern Taiwan’s Hsinchu City, Singh is pursuing a master’s degree in teaching Chinese as a second language, with aspirations to work as an English-Mandarin-Hindi interpreter for India’s Ministry of External Affairs in the future.
TEC is run by NTHU’s Center for India Studies (CIS), which was founded in 2017 with the goal of facilitating interactions between Taiwan and India in line with the New Southbound Policy (NSP) initiated by the government the previous year. As a key plank in the nation’s development strategy, the NSP aims to strengthen agricultural, business, cultural, education, tourism and trade ties with the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, six South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand. Though the center initially focused on cultivating deeper economic ties with India, it has since begun placing equal emphasis on bolstering relations through educational exchanges and now runs TECs in nine institutes of higher learning across India with support from Taiwan’s Ministry of Education (MOE).
“The schools hosting our centers are all quite influential in India, which has greatly helped advance our mission to strengthen bilateral ties,” said NTHU professor and CIS Director Wang Wei-chung (王偉中). Wang has been working to expand TECs’ presence in the country since the first branch was established in 2011 at O.P. Jindal Global University, a prestigious private school to the north of Delhi. His efforts are paying dividends, as demonstrated by the thousands of students that have attended courses at India’s TEC locations over the past 10 years.
Burgeoning Interest
At the heart of TEC’s success is an ever-growing team of dedicated educators committed to deepening understanding between the two countries. To attract additional talent, CIS holds biannual panel discussions in which senior TEC teachers share thoughts on their India experiences with education professionals and the public. The Tsing Hua center is also cooperating with teachers from Chinese language centers at universities around Taiwan to compile textbooks tailored for Indian learners. Slated for release later this year, the publications teach students how to discuss Hindu customs in Mandarin and show respect for Indian culture by avoiding mentions of beef dishes.
At the same time, annual higher education expositions held by CIS in major Indian cities are spreading the word about opportunities to study abroad at Tsing Hua and other local schools. MOE statistics reveal that the number of degree-seeking students from India has seen a steady rise from around 800 in 2015 to nearly 1,400 in 2020. The Hsinchu university, best known for its natural science and engineering departments, has approximately 300 such students, more than any other college in the country.
According to CIS Deputy Director Fang Tien-sze (方天賜), interest in applying to Taiwan universities among Indian students rose sharply after the two sides began recognizing each other’s degrees in 2010. “Colleges in India can’t meet the skyrocketing demand, forcing students go overseas for further studies. Taiwan, on the other hand, boasts ample academic resources,” he said, adding that local institutions’ affordable tuition makes them attractive options compared to the costly schools in many Western countries.
The establishment of the Honorary Advisory Committee of Indian Professors in Taiwan is fueling CIS efforts to expand its network of Taiwan Education Centers in India. (Photo courtesy of CIS)
TECs are playing a major role in prompting students like Singh to study in Taiwan. “It’s easier for them to identify with Taiwan after learning Mandarin at these centers,” Wang said. “Some even seek out careers in Taiwan enterprises after graduation.” TEC activities like bubble tea-making demonstrations and screenings of homegrown movies help familiarize students with Taiwan culture and society, he added.
Economic Integration
As academic exchanges flourish, CIS has continued to host special events aimed at facilitating trade and investment ties in the high-tech sector. One forum titled “How To Do Business in India” targets Taiwan enterprises interested in setting up shop in the South Asian country as well as those already operating there, with more than 10 editions taking place from 2017 to 2019 in major cities of both countries. Indian accountants, business executives and lawyers were invited to advise attendees on topics ranging from technology transfer to talent recruitment. “Each edition of the forum has received positive feedback from Taiwan entrepreneurs, who are eager to learn about doing business in an unfamiliar but potential-laden market,” Wang said.
CIS is additionally working closely with neighboring Hsinchu Science Park (HSP), the largest tech hub in Taiwan with a concentration of 412 companies. According to Andrea Hsu (許增如), deputy director general of the Ministry of Science and Technology’s (MOST) HSP Bureau from 2016 and 2020, the government encourages Taiwan’s three science parks to explore cooperation opportunities in NSP target countries. Since many tenant companies have branch offices in India and approximately 10 percent of foreign engineers employed at the park are Indian, HSP has partnered with the Tsing Hua center as part of its strategy to build closer connections with the South Asian country, said Hsu, now director general of MOST’s Department of Academia-Industry Collaboration and Science Park Affairs. HSP Bureau officials regularly visit the university to promote employment options at the park for Indian students after graduation, while Wang and Fang keep park officials up to date on research regarding India’s investment environment.
Timely Moves
Another asset to CIS in its campaign to foster the bilateral relationship is locally based Indian academics. In March Tsing Hua invited 30 such experts to join its newly founded Honorary Advisory Committee of Indian Professors in Taiwan. “Most of them call Taiwan home after having lived here for many years and have repeatedly demonstrated their willingness and ability to forge new links between our countries,” Wang said. “They’ve been instrumental in facilitating discussion with their alma maters about setting up TECs on campus.” CIS has plans in the works to partner the scholars with Taiwan counterparts on upcoming research projects.
Looking toward the future, expectations are high for the center to continue expanding its reach on the strength of its recent successes, including the latest edition of the CIS-organized India-Taiwan Bilateral Forum on Mandarin Chinese Teaching Materials for Indian Learners held virtually this past fall. Initiated in 2017, the 2021 event attracted around 500 participants, two-thirds of whom were taking part from India. “Taiwan-India relations are entering a new era as the two sides seek deeper ties based on mutual trust and shared values,” Wang said. “Here at CIS, we’re striving to strike while the iron’s hot in order to make the biggest possible impact.”
Write to Oscar Chung at mhchung@mofa.gov.tw