Taipei, July 4 (CNA) National Tsing Hua University will open a summer camp focusing on India studies before the end of July to cultivate talent familiar with India affairs, as Taiwan is making efforts to increase its interaction with the South Asian nation, the university said Tuesday.
It will be a one-month camp with intensive courses on Indian politics, trade, economy and history, according to the university's Center for India Studies (CIS), which is organizing the program.
Indian teachers will give lectures on the language of Hindi, along with other courses featuring the social life and market of India, so that camp members can get to know the country more fully, the CIS said.
"This will be the first summer camp of India studies in Taiwan with Ministry of Education financial support," the center said, noting that not only will there be no tuition fees, the first 30 percent of camp members with the highest scores will also be offered a free one-week field trip to India at the end of the camp.
CIS Deputy Director Fang Tien-sze said the center will enroll 30 local students for the special program. All Taiwanese university or graduate school students are welcome to apply, he added.
The program was initiated to meet a high demand for talent familiar with India affairs, said CIS Director Wang Wei-chung.
Wang explained that the demand comes from Taiwanese businesses that are weighing whether or not to invest in India after President Tsai Ing-wen named the country as a key in her administration's southbound policy.
Tsing Hua set up the India center in April to undertake Indian-focused research. As the first school-based Indian research center in Taiwan, the CIS is tasked with "enhancing the ability of Indian insights," it says on its website.
