My name is Francisco Molina and I am pursuing the Master of Science in Electrical Engineering at National Sun Yat-Sen University in the port city of Kaohsiung. I come from El Salvador. I have worked there for five years in a utility company in charge to manage and operate Salvadorian’s Electrical Power System.

When I took the decision of come to Taiwan I did it thinking that this was a great opportunity to improve my knowledge about Electrical Engineering but there is always the doubt of how is going to be my university, the doubt of know if my university will fill all my expectations and if it will be really important in my professional future.
When I arrived Taipei I found a very modern city full of things that we don’t have in my country like the MRT or the High Speed Rail, and I thought that I would like to know a little bit more about their functioning and all the problems that the Taiwanese Engineers had to face during the construction.

Study in Taiwan is challenged me to study hard, because NTOU has famous reputation especially for my field of study, aquaculture. I am joining Aquaculture Biotechnology laboratory. My reason why I am chose this laboratory, because biotechnology is making big chance for aquaculture production in the future.

The crucial time of our study in Taiwan is here. All second year students can do now is to talk about their thesis. That’s the in thing here at Yang Ming University. We are eating and sleeping with ‘Thesis’ on our minds. It has been a long and tedious experience collecting data and getting all information pertaining to our respective studies. The topic of my thesis is ‘Analysis of Perinatal Mortality’- A Belizean Perspective.

I am doing research on malaria control emphasizing on environmental management. One might ask why I came to study here as Taiwan is malaria free. Taiwan has a success story in eradicating malaria infection in the 1950s and something that I really want to know how they did it. Solomon Islands (where I come from) is a country with malaria as one of the leading important public health issues. The Western Pacific Regional Office of the World Health Organization ranked Solomon Islands First (1st) as problematic among countries in the western pacific region (World Malaria report 2005).

As it is well known, a Master degree is the initiation of researchers in any University in the world, and this NCU Taiwan experience is not an exception. My research topic I would consider it quite challenging considering my experience in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) which before I came to Taiwan I had the idea that is was quite good, but experiencing the tasks developed here in this Lab, I figure out that the GIS is a giant undiscovered world, with so many applications that we can only imagine and think before, but are not yet developed in the way it has been developed in Taiwan

Thesis! Thesis! Thesis! This is the word the makes students to tremble with fear and at the same time excited. Fear in the sense that you question your self, if your research topic is good enough and if you will be able to defend your point in front of the evaluation panel, full of professionals and experts in the field when you are just a novice. Excitement implying that you want to get started with your research topic because you have this feeling that you might discover something new and become well known

After lengthy preparations that seem to last for eternity and marked by thoughts of what lies ahead, I finally embarked on my journey to a place that is to be my home for at least a period of two years. The departure date was August 25th 2007 and point of departure: Banjul international Airport. Final destination: The people Republic of China on Taiwan and main reason for the journey: in pursue of knowledge under the sponsorship of Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (Taiwan ICDF). Reference to the journey I would keep at: long and tiring. Finding ones self on board a plane for a total of 17 hours, one is bound to be drained and my case was no exception.

It is reasonable to say that there are advantages and disadvantages in studying in a foreign country. In my opinion I believe that the advantages overcome the disadvantages.

When it was confirmed that I would be studying in Taiwan for the next two years, I thought that I would have one of my greatest experiences in my life. Because I knew that the university (Yuan Ze University) I had chosen is one of the best in Taiwan for studying my master degree in industrial engineering

It has been a while since I arrived in Taiwan and by that time until now it has been a wonderful experience. I am taking a M.S. in Industrial Engineering in Yuan Ze University, one of the top private universities in Taiwan. This university is located in a town called Neili, is in between Taoyuan and Jhongli.

My study in Taiwan is not has hard as i though it would be. When i had the ICDF Scholarship many of i friends back at home warned me that eventhough my lectures may be in english language but most of the references that i may need will be in chainese.However, i found out this is not so. My lecturers are very good in english and all the lecture materials are in english. All the learning materials in the school's library web have both english and chainese interface and it is done in such a way that you can print or download journals, magazines  and past thesis even when you are in your room. My school's internet system is excellent and the classrooms are conducive for learning.

Allow me to first, introduce myself, since last time I had my article appeared in your newsletter ( ICDF News), I realized that I didn’t expressed myself well enough to an extend that my readers will at least become aware of my personal and cultural background, if that’s necessary! Anyway, my name is Walton Bohanny, married and a lovely father, as often expressed by my beautiful wife, from the Marshall Islands, located and floated in the Northern Pacific Ocean, somewhat between Hawaii, to the north and Australia, to the south.

My name is Frantzdy Herve, I am from Haiti and I am studying in National Taiwan University (NTU), as it is common to say, the oldest and the biggest university of Taiwan. Through the Taiwan-International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF), that is sponsoring my study, I am doing a master in an international program titled: “Agricultural Policy Development and Management”. When I first heard about this program, I knew that it would fit my ambitious professional dreams cause after my bachelor’s in Haiti in “Economics and Rural Development”, I have always wished to study aboard in a field that is related to my undergraduate background. And that’s coming into reality nowadays.

William Joerg Okekini comes from Solomon Islands, a state located across the South Pacific, between Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu with a population of about 500,000 people. This is an account of the Islander’s study life at the National Taiwan University.

My name is Raphael Munthali hailing from Malawi, “The Warm Heart of Africa” in the Southern Part of Africa. Am pursuing a Master of Science Programme in Civil Engineering and Management at National Cheng Kong University (NCKU)

Three months yet, I have been living in Taiwan, especially in Tainan city where i am studying civil engineering and management at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU). I start to know a lot about Taiwan: it is not only the country of the sun as I saw that when I had come here at the end of summer; it is not only the country of typhoons and the cold where the sun and the heat of the day disappear, where people are forced to stay at home;Taiwan has a rich environment. .

Upon arrival in Taiwan in August, after a tiring three day's journey, I was lodged at the NTNU Learning center together with other Gambians and International students from various countries for two weeks orientation programme. Let me first introduce myself. I'm Edward Ceasar Mansal from the Gambia, a graduate student in Civil Engineering and Construction management at NCKU. Pursuing academic goal can be a very challenging thing, especially when you have to do it away from home- the stress, anxiety, coupled with assignments, along with coping with relationships back home, roomates, and culture differences. The orientation exercise really help me to adjust and adapt to the environment.