The European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT) has entered a partnership with National Taiwan University (NTU) aimed at cultivating international talent. Today, a ceremony was held during whic ECCT Chairman H Henry Chang, on behalf of the ECCT, and NTU President Dr Kuan Chung-Ming, on behalf of NTU, signed a letter of intent to cultivate international talent, and foster deeper connections between industry, government, academia, and NGOs. Earlier this month, NTU officially joined the ECCT and the chamber’s Low Carbon Initiative (LCI).

At the ceremony, both guests of honour spoke about bridging the gap between academia and industry. "There has always been a gap between formal academic studies and actual work, making it difficult for young people to adapt and for companies to train new employees with the requisite skills," the ECCT Chairman commented. Hoping to close this gap, the ECCT has partnered with several universities in the last few years. Voicing similar sentiments, President Kuan noted that for international students at NTU "it is often hard for them to make the initial connection from the classroom to the field." He expressed the view that this partnership will "foster new collaborations between industry and academia and offer international talent opportunities to make connections in both fields."

Other guests of the ceremony included ECCT CEO Freddie Höglund, ECCT Vice Chairman Giuseppe Izzo and LCI Director Sammy Su. Many ECCT members were also present, including Bart Linssen, Managing Director of ENERCON Taiwan; Helen Hung, Managing Director of Bolloré Logistics Taiwan; Benjamin Lamberg, CEO of Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Taipei Branch; Kelly Kok, CEO of Jane Goodall Institute Taiwan; John Lee, Managing Director of Merck Group in Taiwan; Alex Shih, President of Tonglit Logistics Co., Ltd., and Jennifer Wang, Managing Director of TÜV Rheinland Taiwan. Representing NTU alongside President Kuan was Vice President for International Affairs, Professor Yuan Hsiao-Wei, as well as Vice President for Academic Affairs, Professor Ding Shih-Torng.

The NTU-ECCT Partnership Ceremony also marks the launch of the NTU International Talent+ Programme, including the highly anticipated NTU International Mentorship Programme. This summer internship programme is tailormade for international students. It will not only provide crucial on-the-job experience to students to help prepare them for their professional careers but also involve hands-on mentorship of students by senior managers. By imparting some valuable lessons from the real world of business through these initiatives, European companies will be helping to bridge the academia-real world gap and enable students to leverage their knowledge to develop practical and innovative business solutions and become assets to their organisations. 24 ECCT members are participating in the programme as mentors this summer.