TAIWAN – CONTEXT, CHALLENGES AND SCOPE

FOR ENGAGEMENTJUNE 2018

Contact:Joseph Taylor, Policy Manager – Asia

joseph.taylor@international.ac.uk Audience:

Pro-Vice-Chancellors International, Directors International and international office staff with responsibility for East Asia.

Executive Summary This document provides an overview of the current political context,

the higher education sector, and Taiwan’s internationalisation activity and ambitions. It also includes a summary of Universities

UK International engagement with Taiwan in 2018. UK higher education engagement with Taiwan is concentrated on research

collaboration. In the future, this is likely to remain the case though there may be some scope for the delivery of joint programmes.

Taiwan – context, challenges and scope for engagement

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INTRODUCTIONThis information note sets out the broad political and higher education context in Taiwan, current levels of higher education collaboration with the UK, and scope for further engagement. Taiwan is keen to increase its international links and has developed initiatives to support this. However, the political situation in the region is increasingly precarious.

Taiwan is a high-income economy with a population of around 23 million. It has an ageing population, with a median age of 40.7 and one of the lowest birth rates in the world.1 This demographic profile poses a long-term challenge to the higher education sector and the economy.

NOTE1 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tw.html

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Engagement with universities in Taiwan is complicated by its political context. Taiwan exists in a state of official ambiguity which has evolved over the latter half of the 20th century to protect Taiwan’s own strategic interests as well as those of key international actors, notably the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the United States of America.

The Government of the People’s Republic of China’s approach to the island is defined by the ‘One China’ Principle, within which Taiwan is identified as a province and therefore a subordinate unit subject to the governance of Beijing. The political relationship between Beijing and Taipei had been defined by pragmatic ambiguity, articulated in the so-called 1992 Consensus. The Consensus states that China is one country and it has one government, though the identity of that government was not made explicit.2 Nonetheless, formal recognition of the PRC as the government of ‘One China’ has been a condition of Chinese diplomatic relations since the 1970s.

Recently, an increasingly assertive international stance from Beijing and the election of pro-independence President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016 have created uncertainty about the long-term stability of the current arrangement.3

The European Union’s position4 is articulated below:

The EU pursues a ‘One China’ policy and recognises the government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China. However, it recognises Taiwan as an economic and commercial entity, has solid relations with Taiwan in non-political areas, and maintains exchanges in various technical fields, such as economic relations, science, education and culture. In line with the EU’s ‘One China’ policy, the European Economic and Trade Office is not engaged in relations of a diplomatic nature.

The EU supports the peaceful resolution of differences between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China, rejecting the use or threat of force. It urges both sides to maintain constructive dialogue, and to eschew dogmatic positions. The EU insists that any arrangement between Beijing and Taipei can only be achieved on a mutually acceptable basis, with reference also to the wishes of the Taiwanese population.

The EU believes that increasing economic integration between the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan can make a substantial contribution to creating a more favourable climate for maintaining dialogue and the eventual resolution of the Taiwan question.

POLITICAL CONTEXT

NOTE2 https://www.fiia.fi/en/publication/the-one-china-policy-and-taiwan?read3 https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/01/chinese-state-media-makes-war-threat-over-us-

taiwan-bill.html4 https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/taiwan_en/2000/Taiwan%20and%20the%20EU

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The UK does not have a formal political relationship with Taiwan. The UK’s presence is via the British Office Taipei rather than an embassy. The nature of the relationship is similar to that of the European Union and set out below5:

Under the terms of a 1972 agreement with China, HMG acknowledged the position of the government of the PRC that Taiwan was a province of China and recognised the PRC Government as the sole legal government of China [… This] remains the basis of our relations with Taiwan. We do not deal with the Taiwan authorities on a government to government basis, and we avoid any act which could be taken to imply recognition […]

[…] HMG’s principal objectives in relation to Taiwan are economic. We seek to develop UK trade and commercial involvement with Taiwan, including inward investment. We also seek to develop a wide range of unofficial links, particularly in the educational and cultural fields. We support the further economic development of Taiwan. We also welcome Taiwan’s political

development and the democratic elections that have taken place there […]

Consequently, there are limitations to the possibilities for engagement with Taiwan through official UK channels, or under the auspices of national agencies. At an institutional level, however, there is high-quality joint activity in teaching, mobility and research, with scope to develop further collaborative partnerships. For example, during the period 2013–2017 there were 5,153 UK-Taiwan co-authored publications with an average field-weighted citation impact of 4.096.

NOTE5 http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CDP-

2017-0190/CDP-2017-0190.pdf6 SciVal® database, Elsevier B.V., http://www.scival.com

(downloaded on [24/05/2018]).

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HIGHER EDUCATION CONTEXTThere are currently 157 higher education institutions in Taiwan. This includes 70 universities and 87 technical universities and vocational colleges. The sector is composed of both public and private institutions. There are 33 public universities and 37 private universities. Students pay fees for both, which are about US$1,924 dollars per year at public universities and US$3,552 dollars at private universities. In the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2017-187, Taiwan’s higher education and training is ranked 17th of 137. The system is ranked 21st of 50 countries included in the Universitas 21 ranking8.

The higher education sector expanded rapidly from the mid-1990s in response to social and industrial demand. Conversely, over the same period Taiwan’s demography has shifted from a young population with a high birth rate to an ageing society with a low birth rate. In 2016, 1.35 million students were enrolled in tertiary programmes. This is an increase from around 1.1 million in 2000. In 2016, 95.8% of senior high school graduates (within the general education and comprehensive high school stream) advanced to tertiary education (Ministry of Education (MoE)), and 32.4% of the population has graduated from college or university (MoE, 2016), giving Taiwan one of the highest levels of educational attainment in the world9.

However, the contraction of the youth population threatens the long-term viability of the sector. In response, in 2012 a series of institutional mergers were announced10. Additionally, the University Act was amended to expedite the merger process. Latterly, in 2015, further plans to merge public institutions were announced with support for mergers of private institutions. Higher education enrolments fell by 7.4% between 2014-15 and 2015-16, from 270,000 to 250,00011. Looking forward, total enrolment is

predicted to decline by at least 300,000 students over the period 2013–202312. Within the public system, enrolment is expected to decline by around 35% during this period, from 363,324 students in 2013 to 233,094 in 2023. Reflecting national levels of educational attainment, this decline is expected to have a greater impact on undergraduate than postgraduate programmes. It is hoped that further internationalisation of the sector will help to attract more students from overseas and mitigate this decline.

Internationalisation of the Taiwanese higher education sectorSince the early 2000s, the Ministry of Education has sought to increase the international competitiveness of the Taiwanese higher education sector through initiatives such as the 2003 World-Class Research University Project and 2005 Higher Education for Excellence plan that aimed to improve universities’ performance in global rankings. In 2018, the Ministry of Education launched the Higher Education Sprout Project (HESP) with NT$86.85 billion (equivalent to approximately $2.9 USD billion) investment:

The project is divided into two parts: the first part aims to comprehensively enhance the quality of universities and promote the diversification of higher education to secure students’ equal right to education. The second part aims to reinforce international competitiveness through facilitating universities to achieve world-class status and develop cutting-edge research centres, [they] will cooperate with the Ministry of Science and Technology together with funding support.13

NOTE7 http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GCR2017-2018/05FullReport/TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2017%E2%80%932018.pdf8 https://universitas21.com/network/u21-open-resources-and-publications/u21-rankings/previous-u21-rankings-national-higher-59 British Council (2017). Taiwan. Country Brief. British Council.10 http://monitor.icef.com/2012/12/taiwan-counters-enrolment-shortfalls-with-university-mergers/ 11 http://monitor.icef.com/2016/08/taiwans-higher-education-enrolment-starts-downward-slide/ 12 http://monitor.icef.com/2015/04/taiwan-plans-to-close-up-to-a-third-of-its-universities-in-the-next-decade/ 13 http://english.moe.gov.tw/public/Attachment/7121917593271.pdf

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The second part of HESP, Enhance International Competitiveness, consists of two programmes: the Whole-School Programme and the Featured Areas Research Centre Programme. It is understood that these programmes will be delivered through additional funding for existing institutions.

The Whole-School Programme has four main components: reform curricula and promote research through collaboration with industry and international partners; internationalise the teaching and research environment within Taiwan; increase the competitiveness of Taiwan’s graduate in the international labour market; and increase the ‘translation’ capacity of Taiwanese universities.

The Featured Areas Research Centre Programme is concerned with the establishment of ‘cutting edge research centres.’ Further information on these research centres is not yet publicly available in English, however it is understood that they will focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

A further initiative, the New Southbound Talent Development Programme, is intended to build Taiwan’s links in the Asia region through academic exchange and mobility. Target countries of the New Southbound Talent Development Programme include: Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Specifically, the programme aims to:

� Create a model that promotes mutually beneficial educational cooperation and regional economic development.

� Make it possible for youths from targeted countries to pursue overseas education in Taiwan.

� Cultivate top-quality industrial talents to facilitate the cooperation of Taiwanese business in Southeast Asia.

The Talent Development Programme is part of a larger New Southbound Policy, a regional trade and diplomacy initiative, intended to support the island’s long-term economic and cultural diplomacy in the region. The policy consists of five programmes14:

� Regional agricultural development: collaboration in exchange of best practice in terms of food security and agricultural technology.

� Medical and public health cooperation and the development of industrial chains: collaboration in the promotion of mutual understanding and standardisation of medical regulations, bilateral exchange of best practice and opportunities for training exchange.

� Industrial talent development: as above, the Industrial Talent Development Programme focuses on short-term mobility and exchange, development of vocational training, and broader academic and cultural exchange schemes.

� Industrial innovation and cooperation: development of industrial linkages across the region in green technology, information and communications technology (ICT), and smart machinery.

� The New Southbound Policy forum and youth exchange platform: annual regional dialogue to promote collaboration in economy and trade, human resources, technological innovation, NGO engagement, think-tank cooperation and youth leadership.

The policy was allocated NT$4.45bn (approx. £110.8m) in 2017 and has been allocated NT$7.19bn (approx. GBP £179.1m) in 2018. This amount is being split between the Ministry of Education (NT$ 1.7bn (GBP £42.38m)), Ministry of Economic Affairs (NT$ 2.88bn (GBP £71.79m) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (NT$ 560m (GBP £71.79m)).

NOTE14 https://www.roc-taiwan.org/in_en/index.html

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Student mobilitySince 2007, the total number of students both coming to and leaving Taiwan for study has increased, with the number of incoming students more than tripling in the period 2010-2016. Outgoing student mobility has grown at a lesser pace. The following statistics are drawn from the Ministry of Education.

Incoming student mobility

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Number of students 37,177 57,920 66,961 79,730 93,645 111,340 116,416

Rate of change (%) 8.40 55.80 15.60 19.10 17.50 17.70 5.70

Outgoing student mobility

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Number of students 33,881 31,635 57,859 49,219 52,031 54,106 57,956

Rate of change (%) 0.70 -6.60 82.90 -14.90 5.70 4.00 7.10

ResearchTaiwan invests heavily in research: £12.74bn was invested in research and development in 2015, accounting for 3% of GDP15. Most research funding is provided by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MoEA). The current presidency has prioritised research in agriculture, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, the circular economy, defence, green technology, ICT, and the internet of things16. In addition to its universities, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), the National Applied Research Laboratories and the Institute for Information Industry (III) have all been significant in building the domestic research base.

In terms of subject area, for the period 2013-2017 Taiwan’s research output (excluding ‘Other’) was dominated by Engineering (16.2%), Medicine (12.2%) and Computer Science (11%)17.

The amount of internationally collaborative research output has risen steadily over the past ten years as a percentage of total output, from 18.3% in 2007 to 32.4% in 2017. In terms of partners by volume of collaboration, the UK is fourth, preceded by the United States, China and Japan in turn.

NOTE15 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/657502/SIN_Taiwan_

snapshot_November_2017.pdf16 https://www.taiwan.gov.tw/content_8.php 17 SciVal® database, Elsevier B.V., http://www.scival.com (downloaded on [24/05/2018]).18 SciVal® database, Elsevier B.V., http://www.scival.com (downloaded on [26/04/2018]).

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The content below is taken from the SciVal database18.

Research collaboration by region, 2012–2017

Region Collaborating countries Co-authored publications

Worldwide 195 65,419

Africa 44 2,555

Asia Pacific 42 37,158

Europe 45 16,788

Middle East 18 4,098

North America 30 30,106

South America 16 2,791

Top ten research partners, 2012-2017

CountryCo-authored publications

Co-authored publications (growth %)

Co-authors in Taiwan

Co-authors in the other

CountryField-Weighted Citation Impact

United States 28,197 -1.7 32,124 57,515 2.16

China 18,034 65.4 17,776 27,204 2.16

Japan 8,547 11.4 9,804 14,019 2.81

United Kingdom 6,444 14.9 6,791 11,262 4.03

Germany 5,258 29.2 4,932 10,487 4.43

India 4,501 55.9 4,396 4,768 3.68

Australia 4,337 16.9 4,742 4,817 4.16

South Korea 4,248 26.4 4,277 4,777 4.08

France 4,241 14.3 3,916 7,131 4.85

Canada 3,929 13.6 4,374 4,948 4.58

As noted, the list of priority areas for the research centres to be supported through the Enhance International Competitiveness programme has not been published. However, it is expected that they will align to the established priority areas. Current funding programmes for academic research collaboration include

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biopharmaceuticals, energy and ICT.

Transnational educationAs part of broader ambitions to internationalise its higher education sector, Taiwan is interested in expanding its engagement in transnational education. It currently has some overseas provision, largely within Asia. There is an ambition to increase this overseas provision as part of the Industrial Talent Development programme of the New Southbound Policy outlined above.

Summary Taiwan is a developed economy with an advanced research base, which includes its higher education sector. A significant proportion of its research output is produced with at least one international co-author. The measured citation impact of this joint research is typically very high.

However, engagement at a national level is complicated by regional political dynamics and Taiwan’s own indeterminate political status. Demographic trends threaten the long-term financial viability of the sector, though institutions are aiming to mitigate this through increased international recruitment. There has been some success, with significant increases in inbound mobility over the last ten years. Additionally, despite falling domestic recruitment the number of Taiwanese studying overseas has also continued to rise, albeit modestly. Consequently, though there is strong case for engagement, particularly in research, external factors add an extra layer of consideration for interested UK institutions.

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COLLABORATION WITH THE UKThe UK’s engagement with Taiwan is currently concentrated in research and the recruitment of students. As noted above, the performance of joint research is high. Conversely, the UK’s recruitment of Taiwanese students has fallen in recent years, out of step with overall figures and the performance of other major recruiting nations such as the US.

MobilityThe number of students from Taiwan attending UK universities decreased by 20% during the period 2010-11-2016-17. In contrast, the number of Taiwanese students at US institutions has grown slightly in recent years. From 2016 to 2017, there was an increase of 1.8%to 21,516 students. Taiwan is currently the seventh largest source of international students for the US. The number of Taiwanese students in Germany has also risen over the same period19.

Incoming student mobility (Taiwan to the UK)20

2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17

Number of students 4,625 4,380 4,135 3,965a 3,815 3,830 3,700

Rate of change (%) - -5.30 -5.59 -4.11 -3.78 0.39 -3.39

ResearchResearch collaboration between the UK and Taiwan has grown in recent years, with modest year-on-year increases in collaborative output between 2013 and 2017. The majority of this collaboration has been in physics and astronomy (22.7%). This is notable, physics and astronomy accounts for only 6% of the UK’s total output and 8.6% of Taiwan’s total output.

The content below is taken from the SciVal database21.

Collaboration between Taiwan and the United Kingdom, 2012-2017

Co-authored publications

Taiwan (total output)

United Kingdom (total output)

Publications 6,100 241,282 1160,727

Publications (growth %) 14.9 -14.2 4.5

Field-Weighted Citation Impact 4.1 1 1.57

NOTE19 http://www.wissenschaftweltoffen.de/publikation/wiwe_2017_verlinkt.pdf20 https://www.hesa.ac.uk/services/heidi-plus21 SciVal® database, Elsevier B.V., http://www.scival.com (downloaded on [26/04/2018]).

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Collaboration between Taiwan and the United Kingdom by subject area, 2012-2017

Subject AreaCo-authored publications

Taiwan (total output)

United Kingdom (total output)

Physics and Astronomy 2,342 37,037 115,316

Medicine 1,420 52,387 359,058

Engineering 860 70,397 142,038

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 756 27,411 138,968

Earth and Planetary Sciences 639 8,087 61,671

Computer Science 555 48,539 107,844

Materials Science 381 33,773 68,852

Agricultural and Biological Sciences 346 13,696 82,433

Social Sciences 326 15,659 173,042

Mathematics 282 19,475 64,289

Chemistry 266 22,292 60,818

Business, Management and Accounting 226 8,530 43,643

Neuroscience 209 4,130 40,628

Environmental Science 185 10,848 57,788

Immunology and Microbiology 172 5,359 35,856

Psychology 169 3,649 46,612

Multidisciplinary 144 2,954 15,740

Economics, Econometrics and Finance 129 4,505 35,562

Chemical Engineering 122 12,367 30,113

Arts and Humanities 104 4,006 92,267

Decision Sciences 74 4,485 12,927

Nursing 74 3,755 30,325

Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics 63 5,996 28,161

Energy 57 8,074 26,166

Health Professions 48 2,076 17,610

Dentistry 18 929 7,316

Veterinary 9 520 10,360

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Transnational educationThe amount of transnational education delivered in Taiwan is low for the region. The numbers for the UK reflect this.

Low levels of English language ability may be a contributing factor. International English Language Testing System (IELTS) data is not published individually for Taiwan, but relatively limited proficiency has been recorded in other metrics22. Statistics on the UK’s current transnational education provision in 2016/17 are included below23:

University Sum of TNE enrolment

Oxford Brookes University 35

University of London (Institutes and activities) 35

The University of Liverpool 25

University of Nottingham 10

The Open University 5

University of Derby 5

Leeds Beckett University 5

The University of Bath 5

The University of Birmingham 5

The University of Leicester 5

The University of Warwick 5

The University of Edinburgh 5

The University of Dundee 5

The University of Manchester 5

Grand Total 180

NOTE22 https://www.ef.co.uk/epi/regions/asia/taiwan/23 https://www.hesa.ac.uk/services/heidi-plus

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UNIVERSITIES UK INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITY

January 2018 delegationProfessor Dame Janet Beer, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool and President of Universities UK, and Vivienne Stern, Director, Universities UK International were invited to visit Taiwan in January 2018. The programme was developed and delivered with the assistance of the British Council.

During the visit the group met with representatives from the British Council, British Chamber of Commerce, the British Office in Taipei, Academia Sinica, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology and senior representatives of academia and industry. A very concise summary of the objectives and content of key meetings is included below:

� British Office in Taipei: a meeting was held with representative Catherine Nettleton. The purpose of the meeting was to identity opportunities for collaboration in education and research. The Science and Innovation Network of the British Office has identified shared priority themes for collaboration including health and life sciences, future manufacturing, clean energy, digital economy and space24.

� British Chamber of Commerce: an evening event was held with the British Chamber of Commerce in Taipei focused on gender equality and women in business. In recent years, the Chamber has held events with a dedicated focus on gender inclusion. This event provided an opportunity to highlight work that has taken place in the UK sector, including initiatives such as Athena SWAN, and discuss local challenges, initiatives and exchange best practice.

� National Taiwan University (NTU)25: NTU is a comprehensive research-intensive university with the strong reputation in the region and globally. Reflecting this position, the university has taken a leading role in a number of internationalisation initiatives including a successful outward mobility scheme that sends at least a third of all undergraduate students overseas during their study. The objective of this meeting was to gain a better sense of internationalisation within a Taiwanese institution.

� Ministry of Education: a meeting was held with Dr Leehter Yao, Deputy Minister. The purpose of this meeting was to gain an understanding of internationalisation objectives including the Higher Education Sprout Project (HESP) and the New Southbound Talent Development Programme described above.

� Academia Sinica26: Academia Sinica is a comprehensive research organisation. The purpose of the meeting was to gain an understanding of current levels of international collaboration and ambitions for further cooperation.

� Ministry of Science and Technology: the purpose of this meeting was to gain an understanding of current international activity and further ambitions. Taiwanese researchers currently participate in the European research programme Horizon 2020. Shared priorities have been identified with the UK’s Science and Innovation Network.

NOTE24 https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/uk-science-innovation-network-in-taiwan25 http://www.ntu.edu.tw/english/26 https://www.sinica.edu.tw/en

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GOING GLOBAL 2018 NETWORKING SESSION

LOOKING FORWARD

During the British Council Going Global 2018 conference in May in Kuala Lumpur a breakfast institutional networking session was held.

The session was informed by the outcomes of the January 2018 delegation, with a focus on collaboration in research, mobility and to a lesser extent transnational education. Senior institutional representatives from both the UK and Taiwan participated in the event. In total, over 30 representatives from Taiwan and the UK joined the session to discuss how their institutions might collaborate in the following areas: artificial intelligence, robotics, biomedical sciences and creative industries. These are largely consistent with the shared priority areas identified by the UK Science

and Innovation office in Taiwan, and reflect subjects prioritised in the UK’s industrial strategy and Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Development Plan (2017–2020). The creative industries were identified as an additional area of strength in both systems and one where joint activity may be beneficial.

At the meeting, attendees reiterated the value of collaborative research and discussed models for short-term student exchange. The importance of the Higher Education Sprout Project with Taiwan as a potential source of support was reiterated. Participants were encouraged to create and enhance institutional relationships as a means of advancing collaboration.

Formal collaboration with institutions in Taiwan is complicated by its ambiguous political status. Nonetheless, the January delegation and subsequent networking session in May 2018 suggest further opportunities for institutional collaboration, particularly in research and mobility. Priority subject areas for joint working include artificial intelligence, robotics, biomedical sciences and creative industries.

Following the meeting at Going Global, Universities UK International and the British Council will work to identify any relevant available funding and share with the sector.

There is also discussion underway regarding a visit by the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to the UK in September 2018. The stated purpose of the visit is to seek partners for collaboration in a defined list of technology areas. It is expected that further information will be distributed to the sector in late June 2018.

Further informationThe UK Science and Innovation Network have produced a country snapshot for Taiwan including relevant contact details which is available here.

The British Council Taiwan website is available here.