Call for UK universities to join the Taiwan-UK University Alliance

Application deadline extends to 30 April 2023

We are inviting UK research intensive universities to submit applications to become one of the four founding UK members of the proposed Taiwan UK University Alliance (TUKUA).

• One of the key objectives of TUKUA will be to create intercultural dialogue and exchange of ideas so that collaboration across cultures can take place.
• TUKUA will deliver activities that are primarily intended to create opportunities for joint research, and leverage funding for joint research through engagement with external stakeholders. 
• TUKUA can also deliver activities that are intended to create opportunities for other forms of Taiwan-UK higher education collaboration including opportunities for transnational education, student mobility, and continuing professional development.

Although Taiwan’s Bilingual 2030 policy and the subsequent Ministry of Education Bilingual Education for Students in College policy initiative are the catalysts for the proposed consortium, the focus of TUKUA would not be limited to Bilingual or English Medium Education. TUKUA members would be free to explore and engage in any mutually beneficial collaboration that aligns with wider priorities in both the UK and Taiwan, including but not limited to:

• English as the language of teaching and learning
• Green energy and Net Zero solutions
• Health tech and engineering biology
• Emerging technologies
• Cybersecurity and digital resilience
• Tomorrow’s talent

Based on the British Council’s experience of convening and administering HE consortia in East Asia, we have created draft terms of reference for the Taiwan UK University Alliance (see attached guidelines). However, the first activity for the four UK HEIs selected through this call for interest would be to discuss and agree upon the terms of reference with the other members of TUKUA.

Eligibility Criteria

Institutions must be UK research intensive universities that can engage senior as well as early-career researchers with TUKUA activities and contribute to world-class, bilateral research collaborations with member universities on the suggested priority themes.

Membership Contribution

As a condition of participation in TUKUA, each member university is expected to contribute £5,000 at the beginning of each financial year (April to March). One member of TUKUA would then be selected to act as the secretariat and hold and manage the contributions contributed by all TUKUA members. These contributions would be allocated to fund organisation of TUKUA activities, such as steering committee meetings, conferences, researcher workshops and the secretariat’s operations. Member universities may be required to cover some additional costs to organise or participate in TUKUA activities.