In pursuit of

favorable diplomatic and humanistic

impacts:

A case study of Taiwan’s international

scholarship program
 

Anna Warangkana Lin

Associate Professor
I-Shou University
The 67th Annual Conference
Comparative and International Education Society (CIES)
17-22 Feb 2023
 Background

• Internationalization policy in higher education facilitates nations’ economic growth and demonstrates generosity to partner
nations.
• Driven by national foreign policies, international scholarship in higher education is often perceived as soft power aiming to
promote international visibility and project national influence (Nye, 2004).
1919: Institute of International Education (IIE) – US exchange programs in the Western hemisphere (mainly Latin America)
1925: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) – German academic exchange grants to over 300 HE institutions
1934: British Council – British cultural and educational advancement
1946: Fulbright Scholarship Program – US academic exchange programs with 160 countries worldwide
1951: Goethe-Institute – German cultural and language exchange programs
East Asia:
International Scholarships

1974: Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

1991: Korea’s International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)
1996 : China Scholarship Council (CSC)
1997: International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF)
2001: MEXT scholarship (Monbukagakusho)
2004: Confucius Institute (Hanban)
ICDF Scholarship Program

• The Taiwanese government has put considerable effort into its foreign policy in deploying aid and sharing
knowledge and experience with partner nations through higher education.
• Established in 1997, International Higher Education Scholarship Program (IHESP) has been offered under the
International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) through collaboration with 21 selected universities in
Taiwan to strengthen relations with partner countries.
• The scholarships are awarded to approximately 175 new students each year (ICDF, 2020). Since 1998, there have
been 2,083 scholarship recipients (ICDF, 2018).
• ICDF is overseen by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).
• ICDF currently offers the scholarships to 53 countries: 13 of them are allied and 40 friendly countries.
Taiwan unique diplomatic relations

• Since the late 1950s and after a successful transformation of its status from an aid recipient to become an
emerging donor, Taiwan expanded and diversified its aid target including African countries in the 1960s, Latin
America in the 1970s and island nations in the 1980s (Cheng et al., 2015).
• After losing its recognition in the United Nations in 1971, Taiwan’s official development assistance has relatively
been confined to its diplomatic allies mainly in Central and South America, the Pacific Islands, the Caribbean, and
Africa.
 Competing motives of
international scholarship programs

• There have been growing debates over the underlying motives of scholarship-based international student
mobility programs and their impacts.
• The role of HEIs in diplomatic paradigm & humanistic paradigms
(1) Diplomatic paradigm: Bolstered by national interest and strategy, higher education plays a role in
fostering positive bilateral relations expecting that the hosting states will gain a favorable influence on
foreign public opinion (Nye, 2004).
(2) Humanistic paradigm: By offering the scholarship to international students with disadvantaged
backgrounds, the hosting institutions are committed as a liaison to improve societal challenges and
support the advancement of knowledge in specific fields that are deemed essential for the
development of partnered countries.
Diplomatic Perspectives:
Wilson (2017)

• Ian Wilson (2017) indicated the mechanisms and three fundamental means of the mobility programs:
• Student attitude change: Through first-hand experiences of extended stay abroad, elite foreign
students develop favorable attitudes toward values and public policy in the host country compared
to others.
• Institution selection and transfer: Such exposure gives them selective ideas about which
alternatives they like and dislike – institution selection (Wilson, 2014).
• Cross-border network formation: These young talents from abroad may connect and form
immediate networks with new associates they would never have met had they stayed at home.
• In later life, they will mobilize others to the same end inducing favorable perceptions about their former
host (Wilson, 2013; 2015).
Diplomatic Perspectives:
Scott-Smith (2008) & Knight (2015)

• Giles Scott-Smith (2008) proposes the opinion-leader model projecting an influence of the promising alums
as potential leaders who could serve as the principal channels of transference.
• This international influence induces diplomatic gain of the host government, thus, accumulating soft power
(Nye, 2005).
• While international student mobility programs could be seen as an effective means for wielding soft power,
Jane Knight (2015) suggests to move away from a power domain to a knowledge domain of diplomacy.
• From a macro perspective, Knight (2019) concentrates fundamentally on the role of international higher
education and research in strengthening relations between institutions, countries, or regions through
research collaborations and networks.
• Knight (2020) tends to believe that individual and stand-alone international higher education institution
activities do not necessarily constitute knowledge diplomacy.
Humanistic Perspectives:
Mawer (2014) & Dassin et al. (2017)

• Widening marginalized groups’ access to quality education, advocating social mobility, empowering
individuals as a change agent, promoting social networks of scholarship holders and alumni that catalyze
collective action to promote social services (Dassin, Marsh & Mawer, 2017).
• Increased individual capacity (Mawer, 2014), intercultural disposition (Asada, 2019; Loerke, 2017), and
leveraged career prospects (Mellors-Bourne et al., 2015) are commonly understood as individual advantages
of the scholarship-based international mobility program.
• At a community level, gathering young elite grantees in a well-designed program can heighten network
immersion and cultivate a sense of shared purpose among young leaders who will potentially and collectively
work towards building open societies (Campbell, 2017; Campbell & Baxtar, 2019).
Previous studies: Exploring the impact of mobility programs
from alumni’s experiences
Various studies of international higher education have explored the post-graduation impact of the scholarship-based
international student mobility program on individuals and broader societies (British Council, 2014; IIE, 2016; Paige et al.,
2007; UNESCO, 2022).

Reserch institute/researcher Type of research Objectives No. of Participants Paradigm

Ford Foundation International Longitudinal (10 Alumni’s professional work 2360 survey in 22 Humanistic
Fellowship Program (FIB), Institute of years)/ Quan & and social contribution. countries + 742 interviews
International Education (IIE) Qual in 10 countries
US Department of Education Cross-sectional/ Alumni’s global engagement 6391 survey + 63 Humanistic
Paige et al. (2007) Quan & Qual and career path interviews from 22 US
colleges
Lomer (2017) Textual analysis of UK global influence through n/a Diplomatic
policy documents alumni
Mulvey (2019) Cross-sectional/ Chinese foreign influence 12 interviews Diplomatic
Qual through Ugandan alumni

While the Ford Foundation’s (2019) and Paige et al.’s (2007) projects applied human capital and social change lens, Lomer’s
(2017) and Mulvey’s (2019) studies concentrated more on power and knowledge diplomacy perspectives.
Research Questions

Funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology and situated in the Opinion Leader Model (Scott-Smith, 2018),
the study examines:

1. The role of higher education: How has the program been designed and implemented at the host university
to achieve its goals?
2. Humanistic impact: How have alumni acquired knowledge and skills and applied them in their home
organizations?
3. Diplomatic impact: How does this government-subsidized mobility program contribute to Taiwan’s
international visibility?
Research design

• A case study research: A prestigious national university offering the ICDF scholarship program since 2013
 ICDF master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Management Program
 Approx. 8-13 scholarship recipients each year
 Nine cohorts of 63 graduates since its establishment
• Research instruments: Document reviews and in-depth semi-structured interviews
 Thesis, curriculum and courses offering, program brochure and reports, etc.
• Purposive sampling: Target alumni in Latin America where Taiwan has a relatively large diplomatic presence.
• Participants:
 10 faculty and administrators with at least five years in the program
 10 alumni who are government officers or civil servants in the public sector or those who have
progressively moved into leadership positions in the private sector.
 Participants: Faculty & Administrators

Participant Academic rank Administrative rank Degree Area of Expertise/ subject Years in the Gender
taught program
FC-01 Professor Academic Center PhD Educational Evaluation 9 M
Director (UK)
FC-02 Professor Program Director PhD Educational studies & 9 M
(US) internship
FC-03 Professor Founding Program PhD Comparative education & 9 M
Director (UK) internationalization
FC-04 Part-time Instructor PhD International Education & 9 M
(Taiwan) Development
FD-05 Associate Instructor PhD Social Enterprise Education 6 F
Professor (US)
FC-06 Professor Instructor PhD Educational Human Resource 7 M
(UK) Development
M-07 Professor Instructor PhD Educational Research 9 M
(US) Methodology
 Participants: Selected Alumni from Latin America
Employment prior Sector of
Country No. of years to attendance Current position Employment Country Thesis-related topic
Participant Institution Sex
of Origin after graduation after graduation of work
AC-01 Panama 7 (2016) Spanish tutor, English Department Ministry of Education Public Panama F English teaching and learning
Community College Coordinator quality

AC-02 Belize 6 (2017) Head of Researcher/ Planner Ministry of Education Public Belize M Gender Education
department, high
school
AC-03 Ecuador 3 (2020) English teacher Regional Education Education USA Private Ecuador F Educational issues and labor
Advisor demand

AC-04 Honduras 5 (2018) Engineer Quality Assurance Department of Public Abu Dhabi M Online communities of practice
Senior Specialist Education and (UAE)
Knowledge
AC-05 Belize 5 (2018) Vice Principal Principal Technical High School Public Belize M Teachers’ motivation and job
satisfaction in vocational high
schools
AC-06 Nicaragua 6 (2017) English teacher Project Specialist Marketing Group Private Nicaragua F Social enterprise & social
responsibilities

AC-07 Belize 7 (2016) School teacher Education Officer & Ministry of Education Public Belize F Sexuality education & teachers’
Regional Director hesitation

AC-08 Belize 2 (2021) Head teacher Vice Principal High School Public Belize F Positive discipline & students’
behavior
AC-09 Ecuador 5 (2016) Spanish tutor Legal Analyst Law firm Private USA F Students’ attitudes & civic
engagement
AC-10 Honduras 6 (2017) Teacher Director Educational institute Private Honduras F Blended learning
 Emerging Theme 1
A customized program with interwinned humanistic and diplomatic nature

1.1 A knowledge-politics interchange targeting potential young leaders with joint selection
process
 At first, we were concerned that our program design cannot be perfectly matched with the ICDF expectations to achieve diplomatic objectives, but we can
fit into the government’s idea eventually. They [ICDF officers] did give me some guidelines saying that we need to help our developing countries,
particularly diplomatic countries. It is expected that after receiving the educational leadership training courses in Taiwan, they will return to their home
and reform their own systems by adopting the Taiwanese educational model, ideas, practices, or even techniques to enhance quality education in their
mother countries. (FC-03)

1.2 A provision of global perspectives and opportunities for knowledge co-construction

 By sharing our educational systems and challenges, the program surely gave me that wider perspective of education systems. Previously, I didn't see those
connections. The program demonstrated the interconnectivity and diversity of the world we live. I was able to see the bigger picture as how the whole
education system works. (AC-07, Belize)

1.3 A focus on key development issues related to recipients’ home countries with a breadth of
subject disciplines and depth of research
 The program was so versatile. We explored other areas that are not limited to education. You returned home with a wealth of knowledge, and it is easy to
get a better job, like in my case. (AC-02, Belize)
 Table 1: Program Structure

Educational practice (3) Educational research (8) Educational seminar (8) Internship (optional)

- Study of educational evaluation - Research methods in education - Seminar on educational human - Local primary and
- International education and (required course) resource development secondary schools
development - Research on internationalization and - Seminar of sociology and education - Local international schools
- Social enterprise and education education policy - Seminar of education program - Higher education
- Research on curriculum leadership and planning accreditation center
management - Seminar of Latin America/Southeast
- Research on educational leadership and Asia/Africa
change - Seminar of educational studies
- Research on organizational behavior in - Seminar of gender education and
education leadership
- Research on educational finance - Seminar on comparative education
- Research and academic writing - Seminar of global education and
- Taiwan education and culture research development

• Students are required to take 30 credits comprising one required course (3 credits) and nine elective courses (27 credits).
• There are 19 elective courses offered in two years. The program is operated in a semester system.
• There are 5-7 elective courses offered in each semester.
 Table 2: Theses’ Countries of Focus

From the review of thesis and countries, 71.43% of the participants conducted thesis related to the
educational issues at home while 11.11% adopted comparative studies of Taiwan and home counties.

  Home countries Taiwan Home countries Others Total

& Taiwan
Count 45 7 7 4 63
% 71.43 11.11 11.11 6.35 100
      World & Taiwan; Germany &  
Taiwan; China; World
Emerging Theme 2
Emerging leaders as a fulcrum of social improvement and diplomatic
influence

2.1 High career advancement opportunities in government agencies (in relevance to diplomatic
ties)
 When I presented the master’s degree to the Minister of Education, they immediately transferred me to the city because they believe that the
master’s was useful for the main city, for the capital, which is Panama City. (AC-01, Panama)
 Lots of change in the government because of the diplomatic termination (in 2021). I wanted to get a job in the government. I applied twice in
the past years, but it didn’t happen. I just have to accept that; just like I say, the goal is still the same. It's just a different path. (AC-09, Nicaragua)

2.2 Prolonged institution selection and transfer with shared conviction in social services
 The professors often spoke about the educational system in Taiwan. Many times, we would go to the dorm and continued the debates and
started creating the plans in our heads of what could possibly work in Belize and what wouldn’t. For me, these experiences were very enriching.
When I got back, I partially adopted the cram school idea into out evening division. (AC-05, Belize)
 I remember I had a professor who was deeply into gender equality, and I was one of those students who, I believe possibly because of my
country, was more of that masculinity. So, I had some confrontations with her. I believe that is what basically triggered my interest in looking at
how gender is represented in English language textbooks in my country. (AC-02, Belize)

2.3 Potential opinion leaders influencing policy decision and public perception
 I was consulted about the policy changes in school operations. As an education officer [of Belizean Ministry of Education], I am responsible for
monitoring, supervising, and providing support to schools. Most of the courses I took in my master’s program in Taiwan were geared towards
educational development. (AC-07, Belize)
 Since my research was conducted, the minister has been looking for ways to obtain funding to offer scholarship programs to female students in
the adult and continuing education program. When I presented the research findings, many schools were alarmed to see how females were
being left out of the system. Eventually, two scholarship programs were offered to attract females into vocational education in each district. (AC-
02, Belize)
 Table 3: Alumni Career Trajectories

Government officer

University lecturer

Business manager

No tracking data
School teacher

administrator

Further study
Unemployed
University
Principal

Total
NGO
 

Count 2 17 10 3 3 3 2 2 13 8 63
% 3.17 26.98 15.87 4.76 4.76 4.76 3.17 3.17 20.63 12.70 100
Returned to home 2 12 9 3 3 3 2 2 0 n/a 38
country  
In other countries   Taiwan (2) Abu Dhabi (1)           Taiwan (7)   17
USA (1) Canada (1)
Malaysia (2) Australia (1)
Thailand (1)
USA (1)
England (2)
Emerging Theme 3:
Further needs for sustainable impacts

3.1 Sparse alumni networks to enhance collective action for social change
 We texted back and forth from time to time, but mostly to update what we have been up to but there is no formal channel pf contacts among
us.(AC-08, Belize)

3.2 Lack of evidence in research collaboration across borders and challenges from political
instability
 For professor in Taiwan, they're too busy, even with my advisor. Even though she helped me a lot, when I talked to her about the possible
collaborative research plan, she said that she is a little bit busy, and I understand. (AC-01, Panama)
 To be honest, that is the weakest dimension. It seems that our professors’ attention still rests fundamentally on providing education for those
students here on site. They are interested in teaching students, but it doesn't mean that they're willing to step further to conduct research. So,
this is the situation. (FC-03)
 I am very much concerned to see the decisions to terminate the scholarship when my country’s ties with Taiwan was cut. This affected many
scholarship recipients’ status. Yet, still, I am hopeful. (AC-06, Nicaragua)

3.3 A ripple effect of diplomacy from individuals onwards

 Our population is just 400,000. Many students experienced Taiwan and retuned every year. By words of mouth, you don’t even need the media.
It’s like if I tell 100 people about Taiwan, I think 100 people know, and if these hundred people I tell would share it with others, then it’s like all of
Belize basically knows about Taiwan. Also, a number of graduates, currently work with government ministries in education, medicine, and
agriculture. If you come back with the qualifications from Taiwan, you are employed instantly. They will surely push their ideas and experiences
into our systems (AC-02, Belize)
Discussion 1:
A customized program with humanistic and diplomatic nature

To strike a balance of humanistic philosophy and political agenda, the host institution needs to emphasize on students’
personal transformation as well as a state-centered diplomatic ramifications.
The empirical data has demonstrated an intertwined nature of humanistic and diplomatic paradigms of this government-
subsidized mobility program.
• On the one hand, the program aims to help young leaders and decision makers from partner counties to
accumulate first-hand experience with a deep understanding of Taiwan’s education that can later be adopted at
home.
• On the other hand, it intends to shape these opinion leaders’ perception of Taiwan that could provide a multiplied
effect by functioning as nodes to filter values and information about Taiwan in their social and professional
networks
Discussion 2:
Emerging leaders as a fulcrum of social improvement and diplomatic
influence

• The ICDF graduates possess higher employability. In most cases, they described their ICDF degree as a credential
that certifies their knowledge and skills in the eyes of home country employers particularly their government.
• However, bilateral and diplomatic relations have significant impact on the ICDF alumni’s career trajectories. There
is likely a correlation between the strength of diplomatic ties and opportunities for employment as the
government officers or civil servants.
• Participants acknowledged that the knowledge and skills learned from Taiwan positively widen their perspectives
and affect career decisions.
• As these alumni are from under privileged countries, their home country context in which they pursue their career
is significantly different from the environment in which their studied. At home, they may face limited financial
resources, low-quality infrastructure, public health, corruption, or other social issues.
• Nevertheless, their conviction remains strong. The barriers associated with their inferior work context seemingly
did not discourage them from their aspirations in improving social issues at home.
Knowledge • International student mobility can influence the transfer
transfer across of knowledge across borders (Altbach, 1991).
• The above excerpts demonstrated how these talent
borders young leaders influence the policy adoption and how
the knowledge was transferred from their classrooms to
(Altbach, 1991; their work destinations.
Richmond, 2007): • The knowledge obtained during their experiences in
Taiwan enables them to tackle the challenges; thus,
potentially advance their home countries (Richmond,
2007).
Institution
• When these elite students were exposed to host countries’ public
policies or ideological orientations in an extended period of time,

selection
they select ideas or develop alternatives of what they agree or
disagree and like or dislike.

and transfer • With such exposure, they will act upon their personal judgement
and may potentially push for similar policies or practices in their
(Wilson, 2017) home countries (Wilson, 2017).
Discussion 3:
Further needs for sustainable impacts

• To promote collective actions for social change, certain interventions to establish alumni association might help
tighten these alumni networks. Although Wilson (2017) indicates network formation as one of the fundamental
means of mobility program, this study only identifies friendship networks with less enhancement of collective impact.
• The findings show limited evidence of research collaboration across borders due to the lack of faculty’s interest in
conducting research about issues in partner’s home countries. This finding is less aligned with Knight’s (2015)
framework of knowledge diplomacy which concentrates on research collaborations at institutional and national
levels.
• Despite the needs to establish mechanisms to connect alumni formally and to promote future research collaboration,
at individual level, these emerging leaders actively share their Taiwan’s experiences and naturally promote Taiwan’s
visibility in their own professional networks.
Opinion Leader • Extended exposure to host countries’ public policies can
significantly influence international politics as these alumni
Model will potentially push for similar policies in their home
countries.
(Scott-Smith, 2008) • The impact could be even more salient, when the graduates
attain influential positions such as government officers or civil
servants. They may exert actions in favor of the host country
(Scott-Smith, 2008; Wilson, 2013, 2015).
Knowledge
• Knowledge diplomacy in international higher education takes place
diplomacy when the knowledge is effectively used to address worldwide
(Knight, 2015) challenges and inequalities by recognizing the actors’ mutuality of
interest and benefits (Knight, 2015, p.9).
• Knight (2020) tend to view knowledge diplomacy from the higher
education partnerships’ lens with HE actors or partners from other
sectors.
• However, in this study, the host institution institution is seemingly a
lone actor providing knowledge to the young elites from Taiwan’s
partner countries.
• These alumni act as a vehicle to mobilize knowledge across borders.
 Conclusion

1. Practically, the testimonies reveal the intertwined nature in political and humanistic domains of the government-
subsidized mobility program. The motives of this program stem from a political agenda projecting alumni as a source
of soft power to generate diplomatic ramifications. However, there is also a humanistic intention to offer alumni
personal transformation and mobilize knowledge across borders to improve education systems in partner countries.
2. This favorable diplomatic impact at an individual level could be complimentary to knowledge diplomacy defined by
Knight (2018) which tends to concentrate on a macro perspective of institutional and national partnerships.
3. Theoretically, the study serves as an evidence to widen the boundary of knowledge diplomacy to an individual level.
It demonstrates that the international scholarship program and its diplomatic influence could be substantialized at
an individual level, especially when the scholarship graduates are opinion leaders or decision influencers in their
specific networks.
 Thank you

Dr. Anna Warangkana Lin

[email protected]
I-Shou University