Taipei, Aug. 15 (CNA) Indian students account for 37 of the 203 students in the Taiwan International Graduate Program (TIGP) , the first program in Taiwan offering doctoral degrees to foreign students, more than any other country.
"Indian students make up 18 percent of our student body, which ranks No. 1 among 25 foreign countries, " said Hong Seau-feng, TIGP Executive Secretary for Student Affairs. Local students comprise 56 percent of the student body.
Behind India, Vietnam follows with eight students while Malaysia ranks third with seven.
TIGP, a program established in 2002 by Academia Sinica, Taiwan's top research institute, is open to local and international students.
Academia Sinica currently administers eight such programs, with degrees issued by partner universities such as National Taiwan University, National Tsing Hua University and National Chiao Tung University.
All courses and seminars of the program are conducted in English, Hong said. Fellowships are granted for applicants who receive admission. In addition to providing accommodation and free Mandarin classes, a stipend of about US$11,000 per year is also provided to foreign students.
"The program offers them a great opportunity to know more about Taiwan. Hopefully, they can share the experience with their countrymen when they go home, " Hong said.
Programs offered by TIGP include chemical biology and molecular biophysics, molecular science and technology, molecular and biological agricultural sciences, molecular and cell biology, bioinformatics, nano science and technology, molecular medicine, and computer linguistics and Chinese language processing.