International student internships in Taiwan

Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council is piloting an international internship programme to attract global talents, and UK institutions are encouraged to share this opportunity with their students.

Objective of the internship programme
For international students to experience Taiwan’s strengths in the field of science and technology, with the expectation that some will engage in advanced studies or start a career in Taiwan, helping to enrich key scientific research fields in the country.

Internship details

Host institutions: mainly domestic universities, research institutes and laboratories. Principal investigators are responsible for offering internship vacancies and will give appropriate guidance during the intern's research, as well as assisting interns to co-operate with others and gain a deeper understanding of Taiwan. 

Duration: internships will be a maximum of three months, from May 2024 to January 2025. While students can schedule the internship based on their academic year, the placement must start before January 2025.

Number: a total of 600 internships are available

Application deadline: rolling basis until 15 October 2024

Subsidy: interns will receive a subsidy of NT$30,000 per month for the internship phase of the programme, for a maximum of three months.

Eligibility

Applicants can either be:

• undergraduate/master's/PhD students who hold a foreign nationality (excluding China, Hong Kong and Macao), and whose expertise matches Taiwan’s key fields in scientific R&D with respect to all the regulations.
• international exchange students who have completed lessons in Taiwan and are still based in Taiwan, who hold a foreign nationality (excluding China, Hong Kong and Macao), and whose expertise matches Taiwan’s key fields in scientific R&D with respect to all the regulations.

All applicants must be able to communicate in at least one of the following languages: English, Mandarin or Taiwanese.

Application details
There is a rolling admission system. Applications are submitted via https://iipp.tw/

The following documents must be attached:

• Passport page
• Officially issued enrolment letter
• Autobiography and a letter of recommendation

Some principal investigators may require applicants to submit relevant academic certification documents and internship plans, depending on the content of the internship.

All application documents should be complete, conformable to regulations, and time-valid that could be accepted.

Review and matchmaking process

• The matching process would be online.
• Internship vacancies are offered by principal investigators in the host institutions. They will recruit interns based on the needs of their research. Interns get qualified once they receive confirmation from the PIs and they will be delivered official admission through the system online.

Subsidy appropriation

• After disclosing the intern list, the Science & Technology Policy Research and Information Center (STPI) will deliver the subsidy to the section of international affairs of host institutions. Interns should fulfil all rights and obligations assigned by PI, then the subsidy would be delivered.
• The first-month subsidy will be dispatched at the beginning of the first month, and the second-month subsidy will be dispatched at the beginning of the second month but only after the monthly reviewed obligation has been fulfilled.
• Notwithstanding the course being at least one month and basically two or three months, the amount and the dispatching way could be altered under circumstances by each school.

Rights and obligations

• Interns will be subject to all the laws of the Republic of China, regulations of internship institutes, and internship guidance. NSTC may terminate the internship contract.
• Flight tickets, accommodation rents, and insurance fees are at the interns’ own expense. Interns shall also afford any other related expenditures (electricity, internet, public transportation) and obey the rules of their accommodation.
• Interns shall submit at least a term paper only online before they close the intern programme as estimated time or in advance. They may be asked to give presentations under the circumstances.
• The intellectual property rights belongingness during the internship shall be subject to the regulations of the host institution and related laws.
• Interns shall cooperate to take a follow-up survey via phone call or answer a questionnaire after the programme ends.