Greta Matthiesen

Taiwan is an incredibly beautiful country with lush green tropical forests, beautiful national parks, a breathtakingly beautiful east coast and sandy beaches in the south. It is well worth traveling to the country. It is very untouristic and authentic. The Taiwanese are very curious and happy to talk to you. The best thing for me was the interaction between the people in Taipei. The fact that hardly anyone goes shopping to cook at home because it costs much less to simply pick something up on the street means that you see the whole city out and about on the street for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Taiwan's night market (street food) culture is very special.

From Taiwan it is also very easy to travel to Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, China or to Southeast Asia e.g. Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia.

Preparation:

After the nomination of the ZU, nothing came for a long time and then at the beginning of October an e-mail to register with the NCCU. But you don't need any complicated documents for this. You will be asked in which department you want to register. In the end, it doesn't matter, as you are not restricted in your choice of courses.

Taiwan does not require much preparation. About one or two months before your departure, you will receive a few to-dos from the university. You will be assigned a supervisor and a buddy who will look after you if you have any questions. You will be asked to have an X-ray of your chest and to present mumps, measles and rubella vaccinations, which you usually already have. However, it still makes sense to check what vaccinations are recommended in the region. Especially if you want to travel to neighboring countries - do it! You can do the X-ray when you are in Taipei. The university will then organize an appointment for anyone who hasn't had it done before. This is much less complicated for you. Otherwise, it will always be good to try to learn some Mandarin in preparation, as very few people understand English in everyday life. Otherwise, Google Translate or DeepL will get you a long way.

Visa:

Before you set off, you should take care of your visa at least one month before departure. I applied for a multiple entry visa for 180 days for Taiwan (ROC - Republic of China). As Taiwan is not internationally recognized as a separate country, the visa application is submitted to the “Taipei Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany” either in Munich, Berlin or Hamburg. The websites may look a bit old, but they are credible. You will need some documents for the application (e.g. passport photos, proof that you have sufficient financial means). Before you go to the agency, make sure you have all the documents together and have filled them out correctly, otherwise you will not be able to submit the application (I filled out the wrong application form). The cost of the visa is €95. If you need the visa sooner than a week, you will have to pay 50% more.

General information about the university:

The university is not located in the center of the city, but on the city limits in the southeast of the city. However, Taipei is not that big and has a lot of buses and the metro. The best way to get to the university is by bus, which doesn't cost much.

The campus is very large. There are about 10,000 students at the university. The campus is surrounded by bars, cafés and convenience stores. There are so many places to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. The canteen isn't bad either and has several options and fresh juices!

The campus also has a running track, tennis courts, a swimming pool and more sports facilities. There are also several university sports teams. There are two libraries. The more modern of the two is extremely well equipped and has the right setting for every type of learner.

At the very beginning, take some time to set up the forwarding of all emails to your ZU email on their email portal. The portal is a bit difficult to navigate and you won't need it anymore. In addition, many how-to documents will be forwarded to you.

Academic life:

Course selection takes place in 5 phases. Beforehand, you will receive a detailed course selection guide from the university and later an information session on course selection and other relevant information. Even if you don't get any courses you like in phases 1 to 3, you can ask your professors to sign a document allowing you to take the course in phase 4. There is a wide range of courses for everyone. I recommend that you look at all the courses on offer, including the Master's courses, as there is the option of taking them for credit as in-depth seminars at Zeppelin University. My best courses were both with Douglas Chung on investment and portfolio management and on an introduction to Python, so if you are interested and willing to put in the work, I highly recommend these courses.

There are some very challenging courses and others that are not so difficult. In general, the level depends on what you choose. The learning style and teaching style is a bit different. There are assignments (presentations, 2-5 page essays, projects, multiple choice quizzes) in many courses during the semester, but this makes all exams at the end weigh less heavily in your final grade. The final exam is either a written exam, a final presentation of a project or a longer report.

There is an Orientation Day at the beginning of the semester, but otherwise no official program. It's okay to miss a few classes if you're traveling, as long as you keep turning in your assignments.

Housing:

I would always try to get a place in the ihouse as your first choice. However, places in ihouse are very limited. But it's on campus, full of international students and cleaner and more comfortable than the other halls of residence on campus.

If the ihouse doesn't work out, it's really a personal choice whether you'd rather live on campus with most other NCCU exchange students or instead live off campus with exchange students mostly from other universities in Taipei like NTU. In general, the standard of housing in Taipei is lower than the western standard but has its own charm. I lived in the Zhongzheng District myself and loved the location. It's a very authentic district with lots of second-hand furniture stores on the street run by older people. The Da'an District is also very popular, much more international and student oriented. If you want to live near Taipei 101, you should check out the Xinyi District. That's where the standard clubs are. But there are also many other things to do in the other districts.

All in all, Taiwan is perfect if you are interested in East Asia and Southeast Asia. The country embodies a mix of both. The people are far removed from the Chinese in their beliefs, the streets are bustling with scooters and it gets insanely warm and humid from April onwards. Culturally, the Chinese influence is noticeable, but less in the way people interact and more in the aesthetics. Nature is super close to the city and you can experience a lot during the semester. There are lots of cat cafés. And sometimes earthquakes...

Text and Picture: Greta Matthiesen