Joint initiative with 70 leading companies to cultivate sustainable talents

On December 12, 2023, NTU Office of Student Affairs hosted the "Industry-Academia Collaboration for Sustainable Talent" initiative, bringing together 130 CEOs, HR executives, and senior managers from various industries in Taiwan to collectively address the talent shortage challenge. 70 reputable companies included TSMC, Delta Electronics, Foxconn, Fubon Financial, CTBC Financial, E. Sun Financial, Acer, and AU Optronics participated. These companies accounts for nearly half of the total market capitalization of the Taiwan Stock Exchange. In addition, the event also saw the presence of well-known international enterprises such as Pfizer and ASML, indicating that this wave of talent chase is global.

NTU Executive Vice President Shih-Torng Ding noted that admission to NTU is an aspiration for many young people in Taiwan. Hailing from a remote and resource-constrained township, he acknowledged that his personal success would not have been possible without the education at NTU. Therefore, he encouraged all NTU students to leverage the enriched and resourceful environment of the university to pursue their dreams. During the discussion, he expressed his gratitude to all participating enterprises for their financial support and valuable industrial insights for NTU's talent cultivation programs. These initiatives not only benefit NTU and the participating enterprises but also contribute to the advancement of Taiwanese society.

Many companies participating in the event have been proactively recruiting future talents through collaborations with NTU. For example, the joint semiconductor program with TSMC has cultivated talents possessing both practical skills and research proficiency; Delta Electronics has been deeply involved in campus activities. Besides establishing a joint research and development center with NTU, the company has collaborated with NTU's Career Center on an ESG internship program; lastly, Pfizer, in response to the pandemic, has collaborated with NTU's School of Pharmacy and the Promotion Center of Precision Medicine for industry-academia cooperation, shifting its focus to interdisciplinary talents. All demonstrates the strong demand of companies for innovative and cross-disciplinary talents.

Vice President for Student Affairs Shi-Wei Chu expressed his gratitude, stating that the scholarship from MediaTek played a critical role in facilitating the completion of his PhD studies, which led to his eventual career as a faculty member at NTU. A significant motivation for him to assume the role of Vice President is to reciprocate this gratitude and extend support to more students. He highlighted NTU Career Center's Mentorship Program, underscoring its unique feature of providing one-on-one mentoring by senior managers to broaden students' perspectives.

NTU Career Center will follow up on today’s outcome by exploring in-depth collaborations with an expanded list of enterprises. The industry-academia mechanism thereby established will continue to cultivate talents Taiwan needs to succeed on the global stage.