Taiwan launches university alliance program to cultivate AI talent
台灣推出人工智慧學程聯盟培養人工智慧人才
| TAICA begins 1st year near 50% enrollment, schools consider financial incentives to raise interest
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — To cultivate talent in artificial intelligence, 25 Taiwanese universities and colleges have partnered to share resources and enhance opportunities for students throughout the country. The Taiwan Artificial Intelligence College Alliance (TAICA) was launched this academic year to foster inter-university cooperation, ensuring Taiwan can maintain an edge in 21st-century AI technologies. This semester, the alliance will offer five courses at three of Taiwan’s top universities, including National Taiwan University. UDN reported the initiative is off to a slow start. The alliance planned for up to 5,300 students, but only 2,527 have joined for its inaugural year. To entice more students to join the program, some private universities that are TAICA members have reportedly offered financial incentives through scholarships. Dean of the Lunghua University of Science and Technology Ko Tzu-hsiang (葛自祥) is in favor of the financial incentives to boost enrollment. He said students at private universities are talented but may not be confident about the challenges a career in AI would present. Some member schools are offering NT$10,000 (US$309) for each class that a student can pass. Furthermore, students who successfully receive the TAICA certification from the Ministry of Education may be awarded NT$100,000 (US$3,090), per UDN. Dean of Ming Chi University of Technology Liu Fong-rey (劉豐瑞) is another educator who supports the scholarship incentives considering the difficulty of the classes. While some question whether such financial incentives are appropriate, many argue they are worth considering given the importance of TAICA’s mission. Taiwan has a pressing need to ensure a wide pool of talent to develop AI platforms and related technologies, and many argue that the scholarships can help attract industrious students from lower-income households. |
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| Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer | |
| 2024-10-06 |
