National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan is launching a program to sponsor the degrees of 40 Ukrainian students, in an effort to show its support for the country, the institution announced.
According to NYCU Vice President Wei Shun-hua, the university has an ongoing fundraiser that launched in April – the funds from which, along with several alumni and corporate donations, will go toward the goal of sponsoring all 40 students’ tuition, living expenses, transportation expenses, and any other expenses they incur during their studies.
“The situations faced by the displaced students are far more complicated than we thought, and we have encountered many challenges, such as trying to reach them to get a full review of their student status.” Wei shared.
Wei added that these students who have been displaced by the invasion of Ukraine, will also receive free Mandarin-language courses to assist them in adapting to living in Taiwan.
Already, 53 students have applied to the program and 11 of those students have qualified for it. NYCU is also planning to offer sessions starting in the spring, to allow students who need flexible start dates to still take advantage of the opportunity, Wei said.
“The situations faced by the displaced students are far more complicated than we thought”
NYCU’s main goal in launching this program, Wei explained, is to take a “positive role” in the international community through offering humanitarian aid as well as allowing the university to deliver on their international education responsibilities.
NYCU also urges academic institutions to share resources and pertinent information regarding this program with Ukrainian partners and elsewhere, the university stated in their most recent press release.
Several other Taiwanese universities are offering similar programs to NYCU, such as Tzu Chi and Tunghai Universities.
Tzu Chi University and Tunghai University both announced in late April that they plan to sponsor 30 and 18 Ukrainian students, respectively. The objective of these programs is to offer a “safe study environment” for displaced Ukrainian youth, said Tzu Chi University President Ingrid Lu.
TCU’s head of the Office International Affairs, Hsiao Hsin-yi has interviewed the majority of the students applying to the program. Hsiao said that despite most of them relocating to other countries, it was “easy” to tell how scared many of them were during the interviews.
According to TCU, they have opened an exclusive account for anyone who would like to donate to their program for displaced Ukrainian students.
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