NTU and 3 Other Universities in Taiwan Selected for EU Jean Monnet Funding

European Union (EU) released the lists of proposals selected for EU co-funding with Erasmus+ Jean Monnet funds on July 19. Among more than 3,000 competing higher education institutions worldwide, NTU and three other universities in Taiwan have had five applications selected for funding in total, becoming the country to have received the most Jean Monnet funds in East Asia in 2018. NTU was awarded a Centre of Excellence and a Project. The other three universities, namely National Dong Hwa University, National Taipei University, and Soochow University, received two Chairs and one Module. If the Support to Associations received by European Community Studies Association Taiwan (ECSA-Taiwan) was included, then Taiwan has secured six Erasmus+ Jean Monnet funds in total.

According to Director General of European Union Centre in Taiwan (EUTW) Hungdah Su (蘇宏達), all the shortlisted proposals have scored at least 90—a high standard that surprised EU officials and showed the fierce competition this year. Moreover, since the establishment of EUTW by EU in 2008, Taiwan has gradually become a crucial partner in regional EU studies with the concerted effort of the seven-university alliance headed by NTU. This June, Taiwan hosted the annual conference of the European Union Studies Association Asia Pacific (EUSA AP) for the first time, showcasing the efforts and achievements made in the past decade.

Jean Monnet Project, a project under the Erasmus+ Programme directed by the EU Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency, was launched to facilitate the development of European and EU studies, exchanges, and collaborations among universities worldwide. Named after Jean Monnet, the “Father of Europe,” the project intends to establish chairs, centers of excellence, and collaborations at world-leading universities, receiving proposals from universities and research institutions from across the world, rating the proposals, and providing merit-based funding. The competition for funding has become increasingly fierce with higher standards in recent years. This year, the top five countries receiving the most Jean Monnet funds in the Asia-Pacific region are (in order): Russia, the United States, Australia, Taiwan, and New Zealand.