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NCKU 90 and Beyond: Striving for Mutual Success through the Recruitment of International Talent

Writing by News Center. Photo by Chen Hung-Jui.
 
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The NCKU 90 and Beyond project recruited exceptional scholars.
 
In the 90th anniversary of National Cheng Kung University’s founding, the “NCKU 90 and Beyond” project was launched to expand the scope of the University’s recruitment of exceptional specialists, scholars, and researchers from domestic to international. This year, a total of 20 foreign scholars were recruited through the project. Dr. Huey-Jen Jenny Su, President of NCKU, expressed her hopes that their scholarly pursuits and innovative endeavors would lead to the further development of extraordinary talent in various fields and thereby inculcate the ideals of educational development and produce mutual accomplishments.
 
Since 2019, NCKU has been offering subsidies fully funded by the Higher Education SPROUT Project to incentivize its academic departments, institutes, and colleges to recruit scholars from abroad as part of the University’s efforts to diversify and globalize education and the academic environment. In the University’s 90th anniversary, the “NCKU 90 and Beyond” project was created by bringing aspects of talent cultivation into the existing subsidy program in order to expand the University’s sphere of recruitment to the international realm and bring in exceptional educators, researchers, and academic talent to fill postdoctoral research fellow and higher positions.
 
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NCKU President Su (middle) welcomed the recruited scholars.
 
The types of positions offered through the “NCKU 90 and Beyond” project include Distinguished Visiting Chair Professors, Visiting Chair Professors, Visiting Professors, Visiting Associate Professors, Visiting Assistant Professors, Visiting Specialists, Research Specialists, and Postdoctoral Research Fellows among others. In addition to offering salaried positions, the project also provides subsidies for relocation, accommodations, transportation expenses, and research expenses.
 
The 20 scholars, researchers, and professors recruited this year hail from countries like Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and India among others. As part of NCKU’s efforts to better understand the perspectives of foreign scholars and the kinds of issues they face during their time in the country, panel discussions were held where foreign scholars can share freely on their experiences in teaching, researching, and living in Taiwan.
 
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The NCKU 90 and Beyond scholars shared experiences with each other at the panel discussions.
 
President Su recounted how in 1927, during the period of Japanese colonial rule of Taiwan, the Japanese government resolved to build higher institutions of learning around the island. The building sites chosen for this endeavor were Taipei, Taichung, and Tainan. Taipei was considered for its potential as the island’s ecopolitical center while Taichung was seen as the island’s breadbasket. Tainan, being Taiwan’s earliest center of prosperity, was chosen as the site for National Cheng Kung University. Since the University’s serendipitous founding, Tainan’s historic pulse of prosperity continues to beat within its student body. NCKU students continue to ask the big questions and, even more so, strive assiduously to find the answers. Whenever the answer eludes them, they will persist until a resolution is found. Such is the tenaciousness of NCKU students.
 
President Su highlighted NCKU’s bountiful resources as well as its flowing pipeline of student talent. Dr. Su assured that any scholar who brings with them a curious mind or a burning research question will find their exchanges with NCKU’s students, who themselves come from a diversity of disciplines and backgrounds, most exhilarating and inspiring. Scholars and their visions for the future will find full support at NCKU. And it is the University’s hope that when scholars enter the international spotlight, they will look back at their time at NCKU with fondness.
 
The vice president of NCKU’s Office of Research Development Dr. Tsair-Fuh Lin credited the “NCKU 90 and Beyond” project as the brainchild of NCKU President Dr. Huey-Jen Jenny Su and pledged the resources of the Office of Research and Development, which is a core member of the project, to do whatever it takes to help all the visiting scholars and researchers bring their ideations to fruition, be it assisting in the creation of research teams, the facilitation of collaborative projects, the provision of equipment or any needs that may arise.
 
NCKU’s vice president of its Office of International Affairs Dr. Hsiao-Wen Wang stated that the objective of internationalization is to cultivate globally minded talent who can critically analyze and solve important global issues. In the previous year, the Office of International Affairs rolled out a program aimed at assisting international students in getting the difficult times by allowing international students who were unable to return to their home countries to attend classes for another semester or year at the University. In the same spirit of collaboration, the Office of International Affairs is looking forward to working and progressing together with the specialists, scholars, and researchers who come to NCKU looking for opportunities. The gates of NCKU are open to all who are seeking.
 
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