About Taiwan Field School 2009

The Taiwanese government invited 10 upper year undergraduate students from the University of Toronto to participate in an exciting pilot program for students to contemplate the topic of "Global Taiwan". The 8 day fieldwork excursion will take 10 future leaders to Taiwan to experience one of the largest and most dynamic economies and cosmopolitan cultural innovators as well as a vibrant democracy. The student delegates will meet with government officials, civil society groups, and observe various aspects of Taiwanese culture, innovation, and institutions. Before departure, the students have to write an eight page paper on "Global Taiwan" and will present the paper at a conference at Taiwan National University to their Taiwanese counterparts.

The field school is funded by Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs along with administrative support from the Asian Institute and Dr. David Chu Program in Asia-Pacific Studies at the University of Toronto. The Asian Institute is one of the leading research centres on Asia in Canada and in conjuction with the Dr. David Chu Program in Asia-Pacific Studies, it runs various programs, seminars, and events related to Asia. The Dr. David Chu Program in Asia-Pacific Studies is a multidisciplinary program with undergraduate and graduate components that explores different themes and approaches regarding Asia. Four students were selected from this program to participate in the delegation while the rest were selected from Faculty of Arts and Science and Faculty of Engineering. There is a variety of majors in the delegation that will foster interdisciplinary understanding and research on Taiwan.

List of the Student Delegation:

Arnaud Barry - Asia-Pacific Studies, International Relations
Mannu Chowdhury - Political Science, Philosophy
Weronika Czapla - Asia-Pacific Studies, Political Science
Raha Jahani - Human Biology, Nutrition
Remi Kanji - Asia-Pacific Studies, Economics
Sherry Lu - Asia-Pacific Studies, East Asian Studies
Reza Mirza - Psychology
Wendy Pan - Commerce
Mohan Pandit - Engineering
Victoria Wang - Political Science, English Literature

Although the students are invited by the Taiwanese government, they are encouraged to ask questions and think critically. Therefore, the blogs will not be partisan to its views, but will reflect the thoughts and ideas of the student delegates. The field school is from December 4-14, 2009.