TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's Ministry of Education (MOE, 教育部) official noted on Friday (March 14) that Taiwan-U.S. higher education exchanges have spanned several decades, resulting in over 2,000 inter-university academic cooperation agreements. Lee Yu-chuan (李毓娟), director-general of the MOE's International and Cross-strait Education Department (國際及兩岸教育司), added that more than 20,000 Taiwanese students currently study in the U.S., while nearly 4,000 American students, over 60% of whom study Mandarin, are in Taiwan.
Lee made the remarks at the "Taiwan-U.S. International Education Administrators (IEA) Roundtable Networking" convened in Taipei. The event, which drew nearly 70 representatives from 40 Taiwanese and 16 American universities, focused on the future of bilateral educational and academic research collaboration. The Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan (高等教育國際合作基金會, FICHET) and Fulbright Taiwan co-organized the event.
Since the 2020 launch of the Taiwan-U.S. Education Initiative (台美教育倡議), language education cooperation has intensified. Last year, the Ministry of Education's "Mandarin Excellence Programme" (臺灣優華語計畫) facilitated collaborations between 18 Taiwanese universities and 58 American academic institutions, with over 70 Mandarin teachers and assistants teaching in the U.S. Wu Cheng-chi (吳正己), chairman of the foundation, emphasized the U.S. as a key partner in higher education. Under the Taiwan-U.S. Education Initiative, support for Mandarin and bilingual programs has expanded, enhancing exchange opportunities and strengthening academic research collaboration in STEM and semiconductor fields.
Randall Nadeau, CEO of Fulbright Taiwan, highlighted the promotion of the Fulbright internship program, which supports Taiwanese students and teachers in the U.S. and encourages American counterparts to engage in Taiwan through lectures, camps, and initiative-related activities.
