Summary

1. Accomplishments
   1. Establishment of Taiwan Research Initiative (TRI) in UTD
   2. Launch of the Taiwan Huayu Language Liaison Center
   3. Inception of the Taiwan Research Academy   
2. Upcoming Initiatives
   1. Huayu Language Courses (partially supported by Taiwan Ministry of Education)
   2. Administrative Support
   3. Taiwan Policy Colloquium
   4. America in Asia Survey
   5. Taiwan Corpus Database

Establishment of TRI at UTD

University leadership support:

• UT Dallas Provost Dr. Inga Musselman

• UT Dallas School of EPPS Dean Dr. Jennifer Holmes

• Established the TRI under the School of EPPS in early 2023

• This initiative stands as a testament to our shared commitment to advancing understanding and scholarship regarding Taiwan.

Taiwan Huayu
Language Liaison Center

• University leadership support:

  • UT Dallas Bass School of Arts, Humanities and Technology Dean Dr. Nils Roemer

  • UT Dallas School of EPPS Dean Dr. Jennifer Holmes

• the Taiwan Huayu Language Liaison Center is slated to launch in early 2024.

• Connecting the Taiwan business community, including residents and students, and promotes Huayu/Mandarin education, facilitating cross-cultural engagement and understanding.

Taiwan Research Academy

• Scheduled for June 2-7, 2024, the Taiwan Research Academy will award and invite ten Taiwan Research Fellowships recipients to UTD campus for a week-long training camp.

• World-renowned Taiwan scholars will teach workshops training next generation of experts in Taiwan studies.

• Four scholars have committed to joining the academy faculty to teach this summer.

• TRA faculty size: eight to ten (8-10)

• Concluding event will be a conference convening faculty and local Taiwan community members, opening dialogue on prospect of Taiwan research (June 7th, 2024).   

Upcoming Initiatives:
Huayu Language Courses

 

• Visiting Assistant Professor from Taiwan, jointly supported by the School of EPPS and the UTD Bass School of Arts, Humanities and Technology (BAHT).

• Miss Joanne Wu is aboard and ready to teach two courses in Spring 2024

• Responsibilities include liaison with local community to offer Mandarin courses

Upcoming Initiatives:
Huayu summer program

 

• About 10 - 15 students from different schools in UTD will be awarded Huayu travel scholarships to learn Mandarin and conduct research in Taiwan during summer 2024.

• NCHU Language center will host these students

• Three year program

Administrative Support:

• TRI has hired a part-time worker to fulfill essential administrative duties and support the Visiting Assistant Professor and Principal Investigator in executing various projects, including the operation of the liaison center and the Taiwan Research Academy.

Upcoming Initiatives:
Taiwan Policy Colloquium

• Collaborating with esteemed scholars, TRI is organizing a policy wing tentatively titled Taiwan Policy Colloquium.

• This colloquium will provide specialized training for students aspiring to become policy analysts, particularly those aiming to work in Washington D.C. and Austin.

Upcoming Initiatives:

America in Asia Survey

• TRI is currently conducting a national survey titled America in Asia study (AIA), gauging American voters' perspectives on the U.S. role in Asia, with a special focus on states including Taiwan, China, Japan, the Koreas, Singapore, Hong Kong, and ASEAN.

• We anticipate the results to be available by early Spring 2024.

Upcoming Initiatives:
Taiwan Corpus Database

• Compilation of a comprehensive database from U.S. Congressional documents relating to Taiwan.  

• This project employs novel big data technologies to collect large volume of government data and documents. This database will be made publicly available, aiding scholars and students in the study of U.S. policies regarding Taiwan.

Taiwan Democracy Symposium

• Since 2016, TDS has hosted five conferences/special speaker series in UTD

• Co-edited book
• Book chapters
• Peer-reviewed articles

Conclusion

• In 2023, we receive generous support to start and launch the TRI

• 2024 will be the year of growth, with continued support from UTD leadership and administration.

• We look forward to more partnerships as we endeavor to advance our shared mission and make a lasting impact on the study and understanding of Taiwan's role in the global landscape.