I. NTU International Mentorship Program
In 2022, the NTU Office of International Affairs hosted the NTU International Mentorship Program, the first 3 to 4-month mentorship-based summer internship program for foreign students. The program aims to relieve foreign students’ current difficulties with language, culture, and social networks in the employment market of Taiwan. The program works with government agencies, foreign institutions stationed in Taiwan, enterprises, emerging companies, chambers of commerce, research institutes, and non-profit organizations and appoints the representatives of the institutions/agencies as mentors of foreign students. In addition to combining practice and theory and learning by working, foreign students also have the guidance of mentors to explore their future career development during the internship.
In 2024, 130 institutions will send 168 academic advisors and provide 265 vacancies for NTU students to apply for. A total of 310 students from 34 countries have applied. As of June 6, 180 students from 27 countries have been successfully matchmade to 89 organizations for internships.
To hone the required soft skills of foreign students prior to entering enterprises and institutions, the Office of International Affairs also hosted multiple career training workshops and invited the upper-level managers or representatives of the internship institutions to share their stories when they were students and their career insights. The Office has also arranged several enterprise visits, and had the implementation team members help students compose their application materials and analyze the contents of internships at each institution and the directions of their career development.
The Office will increase the number of workshops, enterprise visits, and cultural experiences in the future, so that foreign students can better understand the Taiwanese working environment. The Office will also invite industry experts to NTU, in order to offer career consulting services to the foreign students who apply to the program.
Official website: https://oiainternship.ntu.edu.tw/
Program video: https://youtu.be/dqeOjTtxM-U?si=gmAIGvyC7qahuN1I
II. International Talent Development Events
Events of the International Talent Development Program include the expanded “International Talent Development and Sustainability Zone” set at NTU Campus Recruitment each year. International talent-friendly enterprises that have taken action for sustainability are invited to the Zone to set up booths, introduce their enterprises in English, and recruit international talents. This section attracts more than a thousand students to visit and consult on that day. Some students would directly submit their resumes. The Office would also cooperate with companies which are friendly to international talents to hold special meetings.
In addition, this program will also continuously work with different industrial institutions and associations to host recruitment orientations, workshops, and international talent training camps,hoping to meet students’ career needs through a wide variety of participating enterprises.
Event information will be posted on the NTU event bulletin board and the Facebook page of the Office of International Affairs. Follow us for more related information.
Video on the 2024 National Taiwan University Job Fair—International Talent + & Impact Zone: https://youtu.be/o-4oUZs7w3Q?si=f8hWpliO7BM4L1au
III. NTU iNGO Academy
To cultivate talents for international non-government organizations (NGO), the NTU Office of International Affairs and Impact Hub Taipei jointly launched the "NTU iNGO Academy" for students to become interns in NGOs that are concerned about international issues or international NGOs (iNGO) in Taiwan. It achieves SDGs through project-based learning, and allows NTU students to enter NGOs in the future, building a bridge between Taiwan and international society.
NTU iNGO Academy is a pre-incubation project based on the UN SDGs, and collaborates with Taiwanese NGOs that are concerned about international issues and iNGOs in Taiwan, providing NTU students with a field for practice and learning, understanding how NGOs participate in or resolve social issues and facilitate the achievement of SDGs.
In addition to allowing NTU students to intern at NGOs for 16 hours a week in the second semester of the academic year, this program also offers 5 courses where industry instructors will cultivate skills required by the NGO industry. In addition to student learning, organizations are also invited to participate and engage in empowerment. At the end of the program, one placemaking experiential learning session will be held.
Official website: https://www.ingoacademy.ntu.edu.tw/
Program video: https://youtu.be/gkI1SO7ohVc?si=aiSn-tNpgAlc1_Wd
IV. NTU Overseas Internship Program
The NTU Overseas Internship Program is the first university-level overseas internship program in Taiwan, and selects NTU students to become interns at overseas enterprises, NGOs, research institutions, and top universities during summer vacation. The NTU Overseas Internship Program emphasizes the mentorship system, in which overseas institutions appoint mentors for NTU students that traveled across the ocean to experience the workplace culture overseas or engage in international services, and develop their individual careers.
The 2024 overseas internship programs had approximately 150 vacancies in 15 countries, 36 organizations, and 50 mentors, and successfully matchmade 104 students to internships in 35 organizations. The institutions offering internship included the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in the UK, IBM Research, University of Chicago, and Rice University in the US, ASUS Thailand, The Center for World Citizens in Turkey, and Synology in Germany. Meanwhile, NTU-ORIX Traineeship went for a two-week internship in ORIX Group, Japan.
Official website: https://internshipabroad.ntu.edu.tw/
V. NTU Master Talk
Career development is the main reason students choose to study abroad. However, international students often face more challenges in furthering study abroad and making career choice. Apart from overcoming language and cultural barriers, due to lack of local job market information and network, students are more prone to feel lost and helpless in the processes of studying and finding employment.
To help international students resolve the challenges in their studies, career, and life, NTU has launched the Master Talk Program, in which retired senior managers from corporates serve as mentors. International students may apply for one-on-one interviews through the Office of International Affairs. The mentors would share their rich academic and industry experiences, as well as helping students resolve existing problems and explore potential paths for academic, career, and life development, thus reducing their uneasiness and confusion about the future.
Official website: https://mastertalk.oia.ntu.edu.tw/