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2006
Spring American Education Fair AIEF appreciates the support of the U.S. educational institutions and other organizations that participated in the 2006 Spring American Education Fairs in Taiwan. In this post-Fair report you will find information on AIEF’s Spring Fair activities in Taiwan and upcoming events:
In advance of the American Education Fairs in Taipei and Kaohsiung, AIEF held informative orientations for the fair participants. Guest speakers at the Taipei orientation were from the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Mr. Tony Wen-Tong Lin, Cultural Counselor with the MOE’s Bureau of International Cultural and Educational Relations, discussed study abroad trends among Taiwan’s students. American Cultural Center Director, Mr. Nicholas Papp, noted the keen competition from other countries recruiting in Taiwan and stressed the need for U.S. educational institutions to step up their marketing efforts. Ms. Judy Chow, AIT Cultural Specialist, also greeted the U.S. education delegation at the orientation. A presentation on the student visa application process in Taiwan was provided by Ms. P. Thao Hong, Consular Officer from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Ms. Thao pointed out that in Taiwan the application success rate for all types of visas is about 98 percent, with an increase of around 9.3 percent in terms of the number of student visas issued in 2005 compared to the previous year. In Kaohsiung, Ms. Christina Harbaugh, Commercial Section Chief of AIT-Kaohsiung, joined the U.S. school representatives for the luncheon orientation and offered her advice on successful student recruiting in southern Taiwan. Pre-Fair publicity and promotional activities included extensive local newspaper, radio and television coverage. Several representatives from U.S. educational institutions were interviewed on ICRT, the local English-language radio station in Taipei, while others communicated with local students via web chat sessions conducted by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). In addition, AIEF offered free seminars at local public libraries and other sites in Taiwan to introduce the upcoming Fair events. Fair Venues & Attendance Statistics AIEF’s 2006 Spring American Education Fair in Taiwan was held in Taipei at the Howard Plaza Hotel on March 18-19, in Kaohsiung at the Grand Hi Lai Hotel on March 20, and in Taichung at the Evergreen Laurel Hotel on March 21. The total number of visitors for all three cities was 6394, and data from 3062 students has been collected. Student data will be provided to fair participants following a verification process.
In conjunction with the 2006 Spring American Education Fair in Taiwan, a series of seminars for students were offered in presentation rooms near the exhibition areas at each of the Fair venues. Seminar topics included new directions in proficiency testing, applying for ESL programs, ESL programs and conditional admissions, student insurance, and higher education in Texas. AIT Consular officials conducted sessions on student visa application procedures at all three fair venues, with Ms. P. Thao Hong addressing students in Taipei and Kaohsiung, and Ms. Colleen Alstock providing presentations in Taipei and Taichung.
To encourage more students from Taiwan to apply for U.S. undergraduate programs in the fall of 2006, AIEF has expanded its scholarship program to include 50 undergraduate students. Eligible undergraduate students must have been accepted by a U.S. college or university for the first time, and they must complete their enrollment by the end of the year. Applicants for AIEF’s undergraduate scholarships need not go through the regular selection process. Each of the first 50 qualified undergraduate students will receive a scholarship in the amount of NT$3200 on a first-come, first-served basis. For graduate students, the scholarship application process will remain the same as in previous years. This scholarship has been awarded annually since 1994. Graduate school scholarship applicants will first be screened by AIEF, and the final candidates will later be selected by a scholarship committee, comprised of members representing academic, government, and business sectors. Through AIEF, the ETTV/Annenberg School of USC scholarship will also be expanding this year. AIEF administers this scholarship program on behalf of ETTV for graduate studies at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communications. Created to encourage promising students from Taiwan to follow a career path in mass communications, the purpose of the ETTV/Annenberg School of USC Scholarship Program is to help to cultivate future professionals who will be able to use their expertise gained at USC to develop quality programming for Asian, American, and international communities. Five US$2,000 scholarships and ten US$10,000 scholarships will be awarded to the winning candidates. Schools participating in our fairs are encouraged to submit scholarship information to AIEF in advance for dissemination at future fairs. This service is free to all participating schools. Mini-fairs were held in April on local campuses including Ming Chuan University, Taiwan Normal University, and Deh-Ming High School. Other campus fairs will be added in May and June. Fair Participants’ Suggestions AIEF is grateful to the fair participants who filled out our fair survey forms. We are committed to improving our services. Among the suggestions for future fairs were adding newcomer orientations and school visits as optional services. Other ideas included offering an introduction to Taiwan’s educational system and an explanation of grading and transcripts. Registration is now open for AIEF’s 2006 Summer American Education Fairs in China and 2006 Fall American Education Fairs in Singapore, Korea, and Taiwan. The upcoming 2006 Fair schedule is as follows:
Summer:
Fall:
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