名古屋高等教育研究

第 24 号 （2024）

Special Essay

Higher Education Internationalizationin Taiwan: New Developments in the Context
of Geopolitical and Social Changes
Jason Cheng-Cheng YANG*
Received: 7 November 2023 / Accepted: 15 November 2023

＜Abstract＞
Internationalization has been a continuous effort in higher
education in Taiwan. The symbolic policies to internationalize
Taiwan’s universities can be divided into two phases. The first phase,
between 2006 and 2017, adopted the policy of building a world-classuniversity program, successfully promoting research internationalization in Taiwan. The second phase, which started in 2018, combined
multiple policies−specifically, encouraging English-medium teaching
and learning, increasing international students and academics/
professors, enhancing academic collaborations with Southeast Asian
countries, and diversifying the study abroad scholarship programs
into multiple channels−to continue the internationalization of higher
education of Taiwan. Yet a potential challenge and side effect ofinternationalizing research in Taiwan’s higher education is theweakening of local research. Taiwan recognizes the importance ofbalancing academic research with multiple methods of international
collaborations and is pursuing the internationalization of its higher
education system by diversifying approaches and policies.

Professor, Development of Education, National Chiayi University, Taiwan
Visiting Professor, Center for the Studies of Higher Education, Nagoya
University243

1．Introduction
The history of Taiwan’s modern higher education system can be traced
back to the first modern university, National Taiwan University (國立臺灣
大學), established in 1928 (National Taiwan University 2023a). Relevant
studies have pointed out that the modern higher education system in
Taiwan was influenced by China, Japan, and Western countries, especially
the United States (Chan and Yang 2017, Hou et al. 2021). Figure 1, which
depicts the trends in the number of higher education institutions (HEIs) in
Taiwan, shows that, in 2022, there were a total of 148 institutions in Taiwan;
101 were private and 47 were public (Ministry of Education in Taiwan,
2023a). With the rapid expansion of HEIs, Taiwan is facing anotherimportant challenge as its total population is declining and the number of
local students is decreasing (Wang 2003, Yang 2015).
180
160

158

157

107

153

152

152

149

148

107

105

104

104

102

101

51

50

48

48

48

47

47

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

Total

PublicPrivateSource: Ministry of Education in Taiwan (2023a)

Figure 1

Number of higher education institutions in Taiwan, 2016‒2022

Figure 2 illustrates the number of first-year domestic students at HEIs
in Taiwan according to the Ministry of Education (2023b). The data show
the actual number of first-year students and the predicted number students
based on data on domestic graduates of senior high schools in Taiwan. The

244

Higher Education Internationalization in Taiwan

data reveal that the number of first-year students (i.e. freshman in college)
will decrease rapidly in the 2020s. Although the total number willsubsequently increase significantly in 2030, the macro development of theshrinking number of domestic students is obvious, and a systematictransformation is necessary to increase the internationalization of higher
education.

300,000
250,000

273,638

200,000

223,169
177,382

150,000

176,718

100,000
50,00002008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 2028 2030 2032 2034 2036

ActualPredictive

Source: Ministry of Education in Taiwan (2023b)

Figure 2

Number of Domestic First-year Students at HEIs in Taiwan from2008 to 2037: A Comparison of Actual and Predicted Numbers

When describing higher education development, especially the expansionof higher education, the phases of higher education expansion theory (Trow1972, 1999) divides higher education expansion into three phases: elite, mass,
and universal. The elite phase refers to a higher education system whose
net enrollment rate is lower than 15%; a focus on meritocracy andacademics is characteristic of this phase. The mass phase refers to a higher
education system whose net enrollment rate is between 16% and 50%.
Finally, the universal phase refers to a system with a net enrollment rate
higher than 51% that has to consider diversifying its institutions based onfunctions; emphasizing the systematic policy planning and conducting
quality assurance are also important features of this phase. According to
the data presented in Figure 3, Taiwan’s higher education entered the mass245

phase in 1988 and rapidly improved to the universal phase in 2004. The
high-speed expansion caused problems, such as over-education, unprepared
quality for internationalization, and unemployment issues for graduates.
The most important current policies in Taiwan include enhancing quality,
reducing total HEIs, meeting international standards, and attracting moreinternational talents (Ministry of Education in Taiwan, 2013).
80.00

70.00

75.84%

60.00

53.2%

50.00

40.00

30.00

20.00

15.95%

10.00

0.00

1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020

Source: Ministry of Education in Taiwan (2023c)

Figure 3

Net Enrollment Rates of Higher Education in Taiwan, 1986‒2021

This article aims to achieve the following research purposes: (1) to
describe the current context of higher education internationalization in
Taiwan;(2)

todescribethenewpoliciesofhighereducationinternationalization after the end of the building a world-class university
program in 2017; (3) to describe the new developments of higher educationinternationalization in Taiwan based on empirical statistical data; and (4) todiscuss

highereducationinternationalization

themes(international

research, international students, international academics/faculty, Englishmedium instruction at the university level, and study abroad) in Taiwan.
However, a potential limitation of this research article is that it may not beable to cover all internationalization aspects due to limitations related todata collection, the length-of-manuscript constraints, and the increasing
complexities of higher education internationalization.

246

Higher Education Internationalization in Taiwan

2．Research Method
This research collected governmental statistics from diverse national
datasets in Taiwan, including the statistical bureau of the Ministry of
Education in Taiwan (教育部), the National Development Council of Taiwan(國發會), and the National Library of Taiwan (國家圖書館). This researchalso collected international publication data from the SCOPUS database.
The analytical methods of this research article include a time-series
analysis, a document analysis, and a literature review. The goal of thisresearch article is to utilize diverse methods to analyze national andinternational data to depict at a macro level Taiwan’s higher educationinternationalizationaccordingtodifferent

factors − specifically,

international research, international students, international academics/
faculty, English-medium instruction at the university level, and study
abroad.

3．Literature Review
3.1

Driving Factors of Internationalization of Higher Education

Important drivers of higher education internationalization include
academic, economic, political, and social and cultural factors (de Wit 1999,
de Wit and Deca 2020). In terms of academic factors, governments anduniversities tend to believe that pursuing internationalization can help
higher education’s international knowledge production. Governments in
Asia promoted internationalization efforts in higher education to improvetheir universities’ global rankings and international academic recognitions(Hammond 2016). In terms of economic factors, as a result of new publicmanagement, many governments in Asia reduced their public funding forhigher education. Internationalization and its related activities were
believed to bring economic benefits, such as collecting more tuition incomes,
stimulating local economics, and increasing international human resources(Hudson 2016). In terms of political factors, in some circumstances
education had been used as a political tool to enhance national identities(Vickers 2009). Internationalization efforts of higher education, such as247

international exchanges and the admission of foreign students, can help
build positive diplomatic relationships between nations (Lin and Chan 2023).
In terms of social and cultural factors, students are believed to be able tolearn global citizenship and international perspectives from activities
relating to internationalization (Hanson, 2010). Students can also appreciate
local culture and knowledge when they are studying abroad. De Wit (1999)
noted that the rationales of internationalizing higher education have
gradually shifted from political to economic rationales. Examples of politicalrationales are European countries replicating their higher education models
on other continents and the United States trying to expand its cultural andknowledge influences through programs to attract talented students fromother countries to study in the United States after World War II. By the
1990s, economic rationales had gradually become the main driver ofinternationalizing higher education, with strengthening industrial links andtechnology innovations as well as marketizing university programs andactivities being the main new force of internationalization (De Wit 1999).
3.2

Motivations of Higher Education Internationalization from
National Perspectives

Universities are not the only ones motivated to internationalize;
governments have also sought to internationalize higher education
institutions for many reasons. Between the 1960s and 1990s, universities
and higher education were considered important human power training
providers; universities also served the local societal and national
development purposes (Buckner 2016). After the 1990s, significantly more
literature discussed the role of higher education in promoting the global
knowledge economy and solving global common problems, such as climatechange and poverty (Buckner 2016). Therefore, national and international
goals related to higher education gradually became integrated. The current
global trend of asking universities to work with different sectors to fulfill
the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is an example(Alcántara-Rubio et al. 2022).
According to Buckner’s (2017) analysis of documents on higher educationinternationalization,

248

many

governments

in

the

world

encouraged

Higher Education Internationalization in Taiwan

universities to join internationalization activities after the 1990s. National
motivations to internationalize their higher education could also achieve
the goals that co-existed in national policies, such as admitting international
students for high-skilled manpower preparation (de Wit et al. 2013). In East
Asia, having higher global ranking universities can also help countries’
national reputations (Deem et al. 2008, Marginson 2011).

4．Stages of Main Higher Education Internationalization Policies
in Taiwan
4.1First Stage: Building World-Class Universities (2006‒2017)

Taiwan already tried to internationalize its education system through aseries of educational reforms in the 1980s, with the most well-known andextensive

policyofinternationalizing

highereducation

being

the

Developing International World-Class Universities and Top ResearchCenters (發展國際一流大學及頂尖研究中心) policy implemented by the
Ministry of Education between 2006 and 2017. The main goal of this policy
was to directly enhance the ranking and research outcomes of selected
research-intensive universities in Taiwan. This policy was responding to
the quickly increasing importance of global rankings of world universities
that emerged in the 2000s, and it also highlighted the highly competition ofscientific research amongst Asian countries. One famous book titled WorldClass Worldwide: Transforming Research Universities in Asia and Latin
America, edited by Altbach and Balán (2007), described how Asian
countries invested large sums of funding into higher education after the
2000s in order to join the ranking competition and knowledge economy.
However, academics in Taiwan criticized this policy, asking whether
internationalization equals ranking and international research. Chou (2014)
used the term SSCI syndrome to describe Taiwanese scholars’ struggles
with using English to conduct research and produce academic publications.

249

4.2

Second Stage: Multiple Approaches to Internationalizing Higher
Education in Taiwan (2018‒)

As the first stage successfully increased the internationalization ofresearch at universities, the number of critics among both academics andthe public also grew. Criticisms have included that it could strengthen the
resource divide between universities, exacerbating inequalities of accessand quality among universities (Tang 2019). Researchers also argued thatthe internationalization of higher education should not be limited toresearch, as there is a need to highlight the importance of internationalizing
teaching and learning at universities (Chou 2014).
Therefore, starting in 2018, the Taiwan government initiated a newcomprehensive higher education funding policy called the Higher Education
Sprout Project (HESP: 高 等 教 育 深 耕 計 畫 ). This policy emphasized
supporting bilingual facilities and software, creating internationalized
campuses, and enhancing internationalization at home by recruiting moreinternational students and academics/faculty in Taiwan. The Ministry of
Education’s policy document mentioned that Taiwan’s universities shouldhave “student learning as the core” and develop “connecting local, linking
international, and leading higher education to face the future”. Between
2018 and 2022, which was the first phase of HESP, all public and private
universities had to maintain their quality and diverse developments as wellas equal education rights for students. Meanwhile, certain national
universities (e.g. National Taiwan University and National Tsing-Hua
University) were expected to pursue international excellence and develop
research centers (Higher Education Sprout Project 2023). The second phaseof HESP, between 2023 and 2027, incorporates the SDGs, as universities
should educate students the relevant key competences in the following
areas: information technology, humanity, interdisciplinary, self-learning,international mobility, social engagement, and problem solving. The
uniqueness of the second phase of HESP is to add a new international
chapter ( 國 際 專 章 ) into the institutional development plans, in which
universities in Taiwan should prepare clear strategies for supporting thelearning of foreign students, internship and employment opportunities forforeign students after graduation, human and administrative resources of250

Higher Education Internationalization in Taiwan

internationalization,andsupports

forforeignacademics/professors(Ministry of Education in Taiwan, 2023d).
In 2017, in order to strengthen Taiwan’s higher education collaborations
with Southeast Asian countries, Taiwan’s Ministry of Education started the
New Southbound Talent Preparation Project (新南向人才培育推動計畫), in
which it implemented three new strategies. The first strategy was the New
Southbound Market Strategy; universities that joined this project weresuggested to teach domestic students about language, culture, andindustrial developments in Southeast Asia. In the second strategy, the New
Southbound Pipeline Strategy, participating universities were encouraged
to increase the number of international students from Southeast Asia,
encourage Taiwanese students to study in Southeast Asia, and prepare
more international affairs personnel specializing in Southeast Asian
countries. In the third strategy, the New Southbound Platform Strategy,
participating universities were encouraged to host more education forums
in Southeast Asian countries, build more bilateral university alliances
between Taiwan and Southeast Asia, and enhance the quality of Taiwan
schools in Southeast Asian countries (Ministry of Education in Taiwan
2023e).
According to the Ministry of Education in Taiwan (2023f), international
communication is a key competence for younger generations. Thus, it
initiated the Project of Bilingual Learning for University Students (大專校院 學 生 雙 語 化 學 習 計 畫 ), with two main goals: “core preparation” and“comprehensive enhancement”. This policy promotes an increase ofEnglish-medium instruction courses at universities. The participating
universities are divided into three levels: bilingual benchmark universities( 雙 語 標 竿 學 校 ), bilingual benchmark colleges ( 雙 語 標 竿 學 院 ), andcomprehensive enhancement universities (普及提升推動學校). Benchmark
universities and colleges serve as the model of EMI education atuniversities and are asked to demonstrate greater achievements on
internationalization.

251

5 ． Four Dimensions of Internationalizing Higher Education in
Taiwan5.1

First Dimension: Internationalization of Research

Figure 4 and Figure 5 present factual data from international
publications collected from the Scopus database to demonstrate thedevelopment of Taiwan’s total international research publication numbers
between 1996 and 2022. These publications include citable researchdocuments from the Scopus dataset. As the figure indicates, the wholesystem of higher education in Taiwan has grown its international
publication numbers since 1996 and showed particularly significant
growth between 2003 and 2012. However, after 2012, it decreased, before
increasing once again after the government’s efforts to build a worldclass university; the numbers even increased significantly during the
COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of the government’s higher education
policies is one potential factor contributing to such growth; another isstrong influences of globalization trends on governmental policies after
2000. Universities in Taiwan were asked to establish international
standards in terms of faculty recruitment and promotion (Chou and Chan,
2016). Another important piece of data that can help depict theinternationalization of research in Taiwan is the macro changes ofpercentages of international research collaboration, which indicate thepercentage of research documents written by authors with more than
one country affiliation. The research outputs of those in higher educationin Taiwan not only moved toward publishing in international journals, but
cross-country collaborations in research also significantly increased.

252

Higher Education Internationalization in Taiwan
50,00045,34245,00040,00035,00030,00025,00020,00015,00010,00010,8135,000
01996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022

Source: SCImago (2023)

Figure 4

Total Number of International Research Publicationsin Taiwan, 1996‒2022

45.00%
40.00%

42.76%

35.00%
30.00%
25.00%

19.01%
20.00%
15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%

1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022

Source: SCImago (2023)

Figure 5

Percentage of International Research Collaborationsin Taiwan, 1996‒2022

Another

importantacademicdevelopment

was

the

impactsofinternationalizing research outputs on domestic publications. According to
the data from the NCL Taiwan Periodical Literature (2023), The total
number of research articles published in domestic journals in Taiwan
peaked with 103,014 articles in 2004, but dropped to 21,831 by 2022. These
data revealed the huge impact of internationalization trends on domestic
publishers.

253

5.2

Second Dimension: Internationalization of Faculty

The number of international academics are gradually increasing in thehigher education systems of Asia. Hiring international academics is also an
important national policy for internationalizing teaching and learning atuniversities in Asia (Huang and Welch, 2021). The Taiwan government
utilized policy initiatives to encourage universities in Taiwan to recruit
academics who were foreign nationals and have international academic
experiences. Relevant policies include the contents of the second phase of
HESP and the Jade Mountain Project (玉山學者計畫), whose goal is to offer
additional funding and international standard salary packages for researchintensive universities in Taiwan to recruit qualified international academics.
Figure 6 summarizes data collected from the Department of Statistics ofthe Ministry of Education in Taiwan showing that the total number offaculty members with foreign citizenship who were employed atuniversities in Taiwan. The total number of international academics wasstable from 2011 to 2017. However, in 2019, the number of international
academics at national universities significantly increased.
1,200

1,000

1,077

1,102

1,105

661

667

670

1,092

1,078

1,060

1,058

645

625

609

607

1,120

800

600

400

416

435

435

447

453

451

451

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

598
522

200

0

2019

International Faculty in National Universities
International Faculty in Private Universities
International Faculty in Total
Source: Department of Statistics of Ministry of Education in Taiwan (2023)

Figure 6

Total Number of International Faculty/Academics in Universities
in Taiwan, 2011‒2019254

Higher Education Internationalization in Taiwan
Table 1

Total Number of International Faculty/Academics in Taiwan:
Comparison of Top 10 Nationalities
2011

2017

2019

Trend

USA

339

274

258

↓

Japan

208

196

200

↓

Malaysia

88

79

95

↑

UK

51

58

55

↑

Germany

56

58

52

↓

Canada

61

55

53

↓

Korea

25

43

53

↑

France

33

36

39

↑

India

14

23

37

↑

Australia

19

23

22

↑

Source: Department of Statistics of Ministry of Education in Taiwan (2023)

Table 1 presents the ten most prevalent nationalities of international
faculty/academics who worked at universities in Taiwan. Based on these
data, some key findings can be highlighted. Historically, foreign professors
in Taiwan tended to be hired by departments of foreign languages or auniversity’s language center to meet the needs of diverse language learning.
However, more recently Taiwan’s Ministry of Education has encouraged
universities to hire more foreign faculty/academics in all departments andprograms to promote a bilingual environment and EMI teaching at thehigher education level. According to the data, 10 years ago, most foreign
professors in Taiwan were from the United States, Japan, and Malaysia. In
the last decade, the number of international academics from South Korea
and India has significantly increased. The diverse nationalities of foreign
professors working at universities demonstrates not only the movement
toward internationalization, but also the growing global talent mobility of
the academic profession in Asia. It can be argued that the number offoreign professors in Taiwan is expected to increase in the future,especially given the trends to encourage EMI teaching, international
publications, global ranking, and the new Southern-bound policy. Talentmobility is an important trend in the academic profession in Asia. For
instance, South Korea’s academic job market is very competitive, leading255

new Ph.D. graduates to seek academic employment opportunities in othercountries (Kim 2009); such a trend could also expand the importance of theinternationalization of higher education.
5.3

Third Dimension: Internationalization of Students

The growth of international students in the higher education sector is an
important symbol of internationalization. International students are an
essential element when universities are promoting international activities
and EMI teaching and learning on campus. International students are usuallyimportant talents and human resources for professors’ teaching and research
project

implementation,

especiallyatinternationalizing

universities.

International students can also strengthen diplomatic relationships and themulticulturalism of higher education (Lin and Chan, 2023).
Figure 7 illustrates the total number of international students in Taiwan’s
higher education system. The total number of international students stably
increased from 2013 to 2019. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s strong
influence on international mobility between 2020 and 2022, the total numberof international students at universities in Taiwan decreased significantly in2020 and 2021, although the number rebounded in 2022.

140,000

128,157
120,000

116,875
111,340

100,000

126,997
121,461
98,247

93,64580,000103,658

92,96379,73060,00040,00020,000
0

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Source: Department of Statistics of Ministry of Education in Taiwan (2023)

Figure 7

Total Number of International Students in Universities in Taiwan,
2013‒2022

256

Higher Education Internationalization in Taiwan

The tuition fee standards of international students at universities in
Taiwan are usually higher than domestic students. However, due to thefact that the Taiwan government tried to keep the tuition and fees
affordable for students, the tuition and fees for both domestic andinternational students are relatively lower than other countries. Take
National Taiwan University (NTU) bachelor degree programs as an
example, the total tuition and fees per semester for one international
student (國際生) or Mainland Chinese student (陸生) is ranging from 1682
USD (college of humanity) to 2070 USD (college of medicine) in the academic
year of 2023. While the tuition and fees standard for domestic Taiwanese
students and overseas Chinese students (僑生) is about 50% of international
student’s standard, which means it is ranging from 841 USD (college ofhumanity) to 1035 USD (college of medicine) in the academic year of 2023
(National Taiwan University, 2023b). Graduate degree programs have
similar tuition polices for different types of students as the bachelor degree
programs in the case of NTU. Despite certain unique programs or colleges,
such as GMBA program and international college that Ministry of
Education offered them special conditions on charging higher tuition andfees from students. Universities in Taiwan usually will offer merit-based
scholarship opportunities for international students, the total amount ofscholarship funds at each university is depending on its emphasis weight
on internationalization.
25,00023,72819,79320,000

16,63915,00012,3789,248

10,000

6,539
4,047

5,000

3,150

3,029

2,969

MainlandIndia

Philippines

2,138

0

VietnamIndonesia Malaysia Hong KongJapan

Thailand

Macao

OthersChina

Source: Department of Statistics of Ministry of Education in Taiwan (2023)

Figure 8

Number of International Students of Higher Education in Taiwan
in 2022: Comparison of Nationalities

257

Figure 8 presents another perspective about the internationalization of
students in Taiwan. It considers the number of international students in
Taiwan’s higher education system in 2022 to compare nationalities. The
highest number of international students came from Vietnam, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Japan. Therefore, international students in
Taiwan are mostly from Asian countries.
Figure 9 compares the number of international students in Taiwan from
Mainland China and Southeast Asia to the total number from 2012 to 2021.
The data show different developing trends between Mainland China andSoutheast Asia. On the one hand, the efforts of the new South-Bound policy
have successfully linked Taiwan’s higher education system to Southeast
Asian countries, fostering international collaborations, especially in termsof admitting more students from Southeast Asia. On the other hand, thenumber of students from Mainland China dramatically decreased startingin 2016, when the mutual academic exchanges and collaborations between
the two countries were largely declining.

70,00057,69557,14360,00053,09955,20950,00041,951

41,981
41,37940,00033,28830,00025,12020,20720,00022,49432,31835,30429,96028,741

25,10625,28917,45410,000

6,033

4,293

0

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Mainland China

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

Southeast Asia

Source: Department of Statistics of Ministry of Education in Taiwan (2023)

Figure 9

International Students of Higher Education in Taiwan: Comparison
between Mainland China and Southeast Asia between 2012 and 2021

258

Higher Education Internationalization in Taiwan

5.4

Fourth Dimension: Taiwanese Students Studying Abroad

Figure 10 shows the total number of Taiwanese students who applied
and received student visas to study in foreign countries, thereby indicating
the number who study abroad and, thus, internationalization in higher
education. In 2020 and 2021, studying abroad was heavily influenced by the
COVID-19 pandemic. Table 2 presents detailed data of the countries inwhich Taiwanese students chose to study abroad between 2013 and 2022.
The United States was the top destination, followed by Canada, the United
Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan. However, the United States was
the only country to experience a decrease in Taiwanese students; theremaining top 10 destinations all increased despite the years of 2020, 2021,
and 2022. The trends also suggest that Taiwanese students diversified
destination countries, resulting in more options in the last decade. In Asia,
Japan and South Korea are the two main destination countries for
Taiwanese students studying abroad.

45,00041,09040,00038,16635,00041,55939,853 40,009
31,784

34,62530,00031,19225,00021,30520,00019,92615,00010,000
5,000
0

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Source: Department of International and Cross-Strait Education (2023)

Figure 10

Total Number of Taiwanese Students Studying Abroad
for an Academic Degree, 2013‒2022

259

Table 2

Total Number of Taiwanese Students Studying Abroad:
Comparison of Destination Countries between 2013 and 2022

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Trend

USA

14,563 14,135 14,547 14,332 13,887 13,000 12,718 4,070 8,314 8,935↓

Canada1,771 1,109 1,271 2,282 2,860 3,170 3,480 2,165 2,250 2,625↑

UK

3,367 3,826 3,408 3,272 3,484 3,686 3,805 1,927 2,995 3,297↑

France955 1,064 1,100 1,132 1,152 1,250 1,200

450

629 1,098↑

Germany

787

629

840 1,333↑

3,140 3,885 4,703 5,062 5,422 5,589 5,603 2,185

240 4,984↑

846 1,488↑

Australia

2,553 5,237 6,651 6,493 5,806 6,454 6,056 5,157 3,016 5,254↑

Others3,196 3,371 4,167 4,572 4,441 4,763 4,997 2,426 2,175 2,770

↑

Japan
Korea

901 1,252 1,433 1,569 1,620 1,645

860 1,097 1,067 1,275 1,388 1,558 2,055

917

Source: Department of International and Cross-Strait Education (2023)

According to the data presented in Table 2, Taiwanese students tended
to study abroad in advanced, developed, and industrialized countries. All
top 10 destination countries are the members of the G20. One historicreason could be that, after World War II, Taiwan’s government establisheda study abroad fund to encourage Taiwanese students to receive higher
education training in developed countries. Called the Ministry of Education
Government Scholarship for Studying Abroad (教育部公費留學獎學金), thescholarship was started in 1955 to prepare talented Taiwanese students tolearn the latest knowledge and conduct advanced research in developed
countries. In the 1950s, there were very few higher education opportunities
in Taiwan, and there was also a lack of local advanced labs and research
institutes for Taiwanese students (Chou, 2000). The policies of thisscholarship also transformed in response to social, economic, andeducational changes. It shifted from a merit-based selection process to morediverseselection

standards

forscholarship

recipients.

Today

the

scholarship includes three main channels: a general channel (merit-based260

Higher Education Internationalization in Taiwan

for all applicants), an indigenous channel (for applicants who are Taiwan
aboriginals), and a lower socio-economic status (SES) channel (for applicantsfrom lower SES backgrounds). In 2017, a new scholarship, the New
Southern-Bound Ministry of Education Studying Abroad Scholarship (新南向 教 育 部 公 費 留 學 獎 學 金 ), was announced to encourage Taiwanese
students to enter graduate schools of higher education institutions inSoutheast Asia countries. Building mutual academic, economic, anddiplomatic collaborations with Southeast Asia countries is the main purposeof this new scholarship.

6．Conclusion
Taiwan’s higher education system faced serious challenges of a declining
domestic population, an expanding number of universities, and global
competition. The economic development and political democratization of
Taiwan urged the higher education system to expand the number ofuniversities to satisfy students’ higher education opportunities and local
industries’ manpower needs. To expand students’ enrollment in universities
in Taiwan, attracting more international students and building global
competitiveness of local universities became an important task for
Taiwan’s government. The universities in Taiwan have to comprehensively
internationalize themselves and ensure teaching and learning quality.
According to the data analysis presented in this research article, theinternationalization of Taiwan’s higher education system can be divided
into two phases. The first phase from 2006 to 2017 mainly focused on
encouraging selected universities to produce more international research
output and pursue a higher global ranking. The second phase from 2018 to2027 applied a diversifying approach to internationalize universities.
International research and global university ranking are still encouraged
for certain research-intensive universities (e.g. National Taiwan University
and National Tsing-Hua University), while almost all universities canreceive governmental funding to increase international elements inteaching and learning activities (e.g. English-medium instruction andinternational

faculty/academic

recruitment),

enhanceinternational261

academic collaborations with other countries, and encourage Taiwanese
students (both undergraduates and graduates) to do short-term student
exchanges or long-term international degree programs.
The review of internationalization developments of Taiwan’s higher
education

showedapositive

development:Thesystemgraduallytransformed from a one-way policy of focusing on research and ranking toa system that valued a diversity of internationalization strategies, such asbuilding academic relationships with Southeast Asian countries, admitting
more international students from different countries, and recruiting more
foreign academics in the system. However, some systematic challenges still
exist and need to be solved. One important challenge is the sharp decreaseof incoming students from Mainland China−a trend that will significantly
impact cross-strait collaborations. A second important challenge is thesuper rapid decline of local knowledge production and how to keep thebalance between local and international research developments.
The diversification of internationalization strategies of Taiwan’s higher
education system, including the constructing of EMI teaching and learning,
recruitment of international academics/students, and enhanced international experiences and multiple abilities of local students in Taiwan, could
help Taiwan become a unique hybrid internationalization system of higher
education in Asia. Taiwan’s system needs to balance bilingual teaching andlearning on campus while integrating Eastern and Western traditions andknowledge into international research.

262

Higher Education Internationalization in Taiwan

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名古屋高等教育研究

第 24 号 （2024）

台湾における高等教育の国際化−地政学的・社会的変化の中での新たな展開−
楊
＜要

正

誠*

旨＞

台湾では高等教育の国際化を継続して推し進めてきた。台湾の大学
国際化のための代表的な政策は、2 つの時期に分けて捉えることができる。2006 年から 2017 年にかけての第一段階は、ワールドクラスの大学プログラムを構築するという方針のもと、台湾における研究活動の国際化を成功裏に推進した。そして 2018 年に始まった第 2 段階では、複数の政策−英語を教授言語とする教育、海外からの学生や研究者、教員の増員、東南アジア諸国との研究協力の強化、留学のための奨学金プロ
グラムの多様化などの政策を組み合わせ、台湾の高等教育を持続的に国際化させていった。しかし、そうした高等教育の国際化は、台湾内での研究活動を弱体化させるという弱点も含んでいた。現在の台湾では、
国際的な共同研究とのバランスをとることの重要性を認識しつつ、多様なアプローチと政策によって高等教育システムの国際化を追求し続けている。

台湾 国立嘉義大学大学院教育行政政策開発研究科・教授
名古屋大学高等教育研究センター・客員教授

267