WHAT IS TO BE DONE?
Intelligent Ironman Creativity Contest is a 36-hour non-stop competition. All teams must go through several tasks to reach the end of the puzzle. During the process, hands-on work and imagination are equally crucial in tracing the clues. You will utilize what you have learned in school creatively, and challenge yourself and create your own magic. All team members need to be together in order to work out all kinds of difficulties. During the contest, the performance and progress of all teams will be shown in website and revealed to the world.
 
FORMING A TEAM AND REGISTRATION
Students registering high schools or vocational high schools can form a team. It is advised to have team mates in different disciplines.

• A team should have minimum 4 and maximum 6 members.
• Each team should have one Team Advisor (Teacher).
• Due to the needs of knowledge from natural sciences, social science and other ability such as implementation, creativity, and physical strength, it is recommended that team member should specialize in different aspects.
• The official language is English.

Registration: Download forms and instructions from or Google froms

Contact Person: Professor Ko-Fei Liu 
Email: kfliu@ntu.edu.tw or ironmanoffice@gmail.com
Office Website: http://ironman.creativity.edu.tw/19th/eng/index.html

1. The Center for Chinese Studies (CCS) has the following provisions for its research grant program.

2. This program is aim at foreign professors, associate professors, assistant professors (including post-doctoral researchers) and doctoral candidates in departments related to Chinese studies at foreign universities, as well as researchers at related foreign academic institutes. The research should be undertaken in Taiwan, and be focused mainly on Taiwan or Chinese studies.

3. CCS provides assistance with research expenses, research materials, liaison with universities and research institutions, and use of CCS facilities, etc.
 
4. Research tenure is one month to one year.

5. Applications should be submitted to the CCS by May 31 of each year before the year in which grants are intended to be used; notification of CCS’s decision will be given by the end of August of the same year after a careful review.
Applications should include the following documents: 
1)     Application form
2)     Curriculum Vitae (including a list of publications)
3)     Research plan
4)     Letter(s) of recommendation

6. Grantees are entitled to travel subsidies and research subsidies. Eligibility for travel subsidies is restricted to foreign scholars who currently reside abroad; those already in Taiwan are not eligible.

7. Subsidies available under the Research Grant Program are as follows:
1) Travel subsidies: One direct round trip economy class air ticket from the domicile of the grantee to Taipei will be provided by CCS. Travel expenses will be reimbursed upon the grantee’s arrival in Taiwan on the basis of the ticket stub and receipt.
2)  Research subsidies: To be paid at the beginning of each month and divided into four levels: professor, associate professor, assistant professor (including post-doctoral researcher), and doctoral candidate. Researchers at academic/research institutes will also receive grants according to the above scale. The actual amount of research subsidies is determined by CCS and any adjustments to those amounts will be decided upon by the CCS Advisory Committee.

8. Grantees must sign a contract with CCS and observe the following regulations:
1)   No outside employment is allowed without the prior approval of CCS. Concurrent acceptance of a grant from any other organization in the R.O.C. is not permitted.
2)  Participation in all scholarly research activities arranged by CCS is required.
3)  All regulations must be observed when using CCS and National Central Library facilities.
4)   A research report or paper must be submitted to CCS by the end of a grantee’s research tenure.

9. Grantees who fail to observe Article 8 will have their research subsidies terminated by CCS.

10. Scholars who receive a grant under the Program must wait a minimum of three years after completion of their research projects before applying again.

11. Any additions to the above provisions will be handled by CCS as authorized by the CCS Advisory Committee.

​Due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus), overseas mails may not reach Taiwan in a timely manner. Please send the signed letter of recommendation in PDF format to ccsgrant@ncl.edu.tw .

​Many international students who go to Taiwan to study and improve their Chinese language proficiency attend classes at Chinese language centers in the large cities, such as Taipei, Tainan, and Kaohsiung. But Chinese language centers can be found at universities all over Taiwan, each offering unique experiences.

Dannial Cardillo, a student from southwestern Pennsylvania in USA, who is taking a degree in Chinese Language and Culture, Turkish Language, and Religious Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, was awarded a Huayu Enrichment Scholarship in 2021 to study Mandarin in Taiwan. He’s currently studying Mandarin at the Chinese Language Center at Tzu Chi University in Hualien on the east coast of Taiwan. 

Hualian and the Chinese Language Center are providing an excellent environment for him to study Mandarin. “Hualien is one of the most naturally beautiful cities in Taiwan, and I love that I can go to both the seaside and the mountains—all within about an hour or two!”.  He appreciates the low hanging clouds he sees every day around the mountains just a few kilometers from his classroom and considers this one of the highlight of his mornings.

Living in Hualien, he uses his Mandarin with people in daily life where fewer people speak fluent English than in the larger cities. Taiwan uses traditional Chinese characters but Dannial found that the traditional characters he previously avoided are not as difficult as he thought they would be. 

He’s also very happy that, despite the COVID-19 outbreak, he was finally able to immerse himself in a Chinese-language environment and Taiwanese culture. Dannial says that studying at Tzu Chi is giving him insight into less obvious aspects of Taiwanese culture because of the unique values that the university upholds, and beginning to slowly understand the intricacies of Taiwan’s history and culture is very rewarding for him.

​On January 21, 2022, the US Government announced new immigration policies that will give a direct pathway to international students of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to study and complete professional training with an employer in the US. Government officials believe that this will help American companies solve their workforce shortage problems and it also will also help ease the decline in higher education enrollments.

The US Department of State and Homeland Security will add a total of 22 new fields of study to the STEM Designated Degree Program List under the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, which allows graduates in STEM fields to remain in the US for three years after they graduate and to gain practical work experience related to their degree. Students with an F-1 visa are typically eligible for up to one year of post-graduate OPT. However, for those who graduate with a STEM degree are eligible for an extra two years of OPT — STEM OPT. The 22 newly added fields of study include human-centered technology design, data science, data analytics, cloud computing, and business analytics. 

In addition, there is an early career STEM research initiative for scholars, specialists, students, interns, trainees, teachers, and professors with a J-1 visa. J-1 undergraduate and pre-doctoral students are currently eligible to stay in the US for up to 18 months to undertake post-graduate academic training. The US Department of State has announced that undergraduate and graduate students on exchange visitor J-1 visas in STEM fields will be able to double the amount of time and stay in the US for up to 36 months to undertake post-graduate academic training. 

Concurrently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated its policy manual to give a wider interpretation of what constitutes STEM expertise and areas of extraordinary ability. It allows immigration officers to determine visa eligibility and it provides additional examples, which give professionals in STEM fields a clearer understanding of more types of evidence they can submit when applying for an O-1 visa. An O-1 visa is available to people with extraordinary ability or performance in the fields of science, business, education, or athletics, and now, for example, journal impact factors, relative citations, research experience with notable institutions, and unsolicited invitations to speak or present research at scientific conferences, are included in the listed regulatory criteria that applicants can submit. 

The Ministry of Education (MOE) launched the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program (TFETP) in 2021 to expand the recruitment of foreign English teachers and teaching assistants, to create more opportunities for Taiwanese students in primary and secondary schools nationwide to learn English. 

To qualify to teach English in public schools in Taiwan, candidates must be native speakers with a bachelor’s degree or higher degree, a state-issued teaching license or credential, and a clean criminal record. The monthly salary for English teachers ranges from NT$62,720 to NT$91,420 — equivalent to approximately US$2,250 to US$3,300 subject to the exchange rate — and they also receive a travel subsidy, health insurance, and other benefits. Salary will be determined based on the teacher’s highest education level and years of full-time teaching experience. 

Candidates for English teaching assistant positions must also be native speakers with a bachelor’s degree or higher degree, and a clean criminal record, but they don’t need to have a state-issued teaching license or credential. English teaching assistants work with local teachers to create an immersive English learning environment that encourages students to actively learn English and improve their overall English proficiency. Teaching assistants receive a monthly stipend of NT$45,000, equivalent to approximately US$1,620, and a travel subsidy, health insurance, and other benefits.

For more information, please visit https://tfetp.epa.ntnu.edu.tw/

Source: https://english.moe.gov.tw/cp-117-28801-5424e-1.html​

​On December 8, 2021, the Ministry of Education and Cornell University signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to establish the Taiwan–Cornell Scholarship program to encourage outstanding students from Taiwan to undertake Ph.D. programs at Cornell University. The MOA was signed by Professor Wendy Wolford, Vice Provost for International Affairs at Cornell, and Dr. Nicole Yen-Yi Lee, Director General of the Department of International and Cross-strait Education of the Ministry of Education in a virtual signing ceremony. James K.J. Lee, Director-General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in New York and Dr. Min-Ling Yang, Director of the Education Division of TECO in New York were among the dignitaries who participated in the ceremony for the signing of this milestone agreement.

Over the years, the Ministry of Education has worked to establish scholarships with universities ranked in the top 100 in the world to encourage Taiwanese students to pursue doctorate programs at these prestigious universities. The Taiwan–Cornell Scholarship program will become the seventeenth such scholarship programs set up with universities across the world, including nine universities in the United States. 

In her remarks after the signing, Director General Yen-Yi Lee said that she was delighted that Taiwan–Cornell Scholarship recipients will be able to join the academic community at Cornell, and pursue their studies at a world-class university in a vibrant international environment in New York. This will expand their international outlook and prepare them for future careers in their chosen fields. She thanked the people at Cornell University and at the Education Division of TECO in New York who worked together to set up the scholarship program.

TECO Director-General James K.J. Lee said that he will be glad to see more outstanding Taiwanese students pursue their dreams at Cornell University, one of the world’s leading universities, and that he looks forward to seeing the future collaborations between Cornell and Taiwan, which will be enhanced by the Taiwan-Cornell Scholarship.

Professor Wendy Wolford spoke of the long and profound history that Cornell has with Taiwan.  Former president Lee Teng-hui and current president Tsai Ing-Wen are both alumni of Cornell University. She said that Cornell values the substantial partnership with Taiwan immensely and is very excited about co-founding this scholarship with Taiwan’s MOE.

There are currently approximately 120 Taiwanese students studying at Cornell University. Cornell is a private Ivy League research university, located in Ithaca in New York. In 2021, the university ranked 19th in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and 18th in the QS World University Rankings. Cornell enjoys a reputation for excellence in many fields of study, including economics, agriculture, veterinary science, and education.

Pennsylvania State University (PSU) and National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the two universities and a collaboration agreement for the “Taiwan Huayu BEST program” on November 1, 2021, making PSU the first public university in the eastern United States to collaborate with a university in Taiwan for the program. Ambassador James K. J. Lee of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York and Dr. Tanya Garcia, Deputy Secretary and Commissioner for Postsecondary and Higher Education at the Pennsylvania Department of Education, as well as Pennsylvania State Senator Gene Yaw and Representative David Rowe, all participated in the signing ceremony to witness the commencement of this collaboration.

The Memorandum of Understanding between PSU and NTNU was jointly signed by PSU President Eric J. Barron and NTNU President Cheng-Chih Wu, while the Collaboration Agreement for Taiwan Huayu BEST Program between the two universities was signed by PSU Vice Provost for Global Programs Roger Brindley and NTNU Vice President for International Affairs Chun-Chi Lin.

This collaboration aims to promote Chinese language instruction and learning through academic cooperation and visiting scholar and student exchanges. NTNU will assist PSU in establishing their Chinese language center, and it will send two Chinese language instructors on exchange to PSU annually to promote the TOCFL Chinese language proficiency tests and Taiwanese culture. Moreover, PSU students who receive the Taiwan Huayu BEST Program Long-Term Study Scholarship will go to NTNU for in-depth Chinese language study and to provide English language tutorials to local elementary schools in New Taipei City under the “Hand-in-Hand International Companion Program,” in accordance with Taiwan's “2030 Bilingual Nation Policy.”

In his opening remarks, Ambassador James K. J. Lee mentioned that the United States and Taiwan launched the “U.S.-Taiwan Education Initiative” last December, which emphasizes Taiwan’s critical role in providing Mandarin language instruction while safeguarding academic freedom. This mutually beneficial collaboration helps provide PSU and other universities with valuable Mandarin learning resources.

NTNU President Cheng-Chih Wu stated that NTNU and PSU have already enjoyed close partnerships for many years in areas such as research, teaching, and administration. The Taiwan Huayu BEST program builds on this foundation and marks a new milestone in the relationship between the two universities. NTNU's world-renowned reputation in Chinese language learning and its innovative digital tools will benefit PSU through collaboration with the NTNU Overseas Mandarin Training Center.

Founded in 1855, Pennsylvania State University is one of the ten largest public universities in the United States and has been dubbed a “Public Ivy” due to its outstanding academic reputation. PSU and NTNU established their sister university partnership in 1983.
​
As a result of NTNU’s solid expertise in the fundamentals of Chinese language learning, it was awarded the Taiwan Huayu Best Program this year by the Ministry of Education, in line with the government’s plan for the global Chinese language learning market. In the program’s first year, NTNU has successfully commenced various Chinese language programs with Pennsylvania State University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

National Taiwan University(NTU) 2022 September Entry First Round Applications are now open until December 2. Available programs and admissions procedures can be found at NTU admissions website.
 
NTU will be holding the Virtual Open Day for International Students through a virtual exhibition. Students and parents from around the globe are welcome to join us virtually and learn more about the latest admissions information.
 
Date: November 1-12, 2021
Link: https://admissions.ntu.edu.tw/event/
 
NTU Open Day Highlights:

Ÿ   2 Exhibition Halls – Everything you need to know about NTU
Ÿ   Admissions Info Sessions – All about our application procedures
Ÿ   Student Vlogs – Unique experiences of international NTU students