Nearly forty potential applicants attended a Taiwan Scholarship Briefing last Tuesday, at the Union Orchid Gardens. Held annually about a month before the scholarship application period ends, the briefing serves to apprise prospective applicants about the process involved in applying for the scholarships.
The briefing was co-hosted by the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Saint Lucia, and the Ministry of Education, Youth Development, Sports and Digital Transformation in Saint Lucia.
H.E. Nicole Su, Taiwan’s Ambassador to Saint Lucia, commended the shared commitment between the Ministry of Education and the Taiwan Embassy in working closely to expand educational opportunities for Saint Lucian youths. She applauded the Government of Saint Lucia’s bold initiative of working to achieve its goal of “one university graduate per household”, noting that education is the foundation of national development.
“Taiwan shares this commitment in empowering the next generation through knowledge and opportunity,” Ambassador Su said in her remarks. “That is why we are proud to introduce the Taiwan Scholarship programmes — a partnership that connects our two nations through education. These scholarships are not only financial support, but are gateways to high-quality academic opportunities, international exposure, and meaningful cultural exchange.”
Since 2007, more than 300 Saint Lucian students have received Taiwan Scholarships, with more than 190 of them currently studying in Taiwan. This year, it’s expected that at least 35 MOFA scholarships will be offered, plus TaiwanICDF global quota. Ambassador Su said that due to the growing interest in studying in Taiwan, the scholarships areas have expanded.
The three types of Taiwan Scholarships available are as follows, from which students have diverse options to choose according to their interests and career goals:
- MOFA: The MOFA Taiwan Scholarship Programme is offered by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It supports a wide range of academic disciplines and remains one of Taiwan’s most established scholarship pathways. With this programme, students will have the option of spending their first year studying Mandarin first before commencing the degree programme.
- ICDF: The TaiwanICDF Scholarship Programme supports Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD degrees across partner universities in Taiwan. These programmes are all offered in English. It is a globally competitive programme that attracts applicants from many countries. This year, more new undergraduate programmes have been added, and they focus on high-demand fields such as Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Information Technology.
- Public Health-related English Programme: As health and wellbeing are essential to national prosperity, this programme focuses on areas including public health, nursing, biomedical science, and medical technology. Sixteen universities offer 88 English-taught programmes under this category. Like the others, it is a global competition without a fixed quota.
Despite both Taiwan and Saint Lucia being island countries, Ambassador Su cautioned applicants that they will experience some level of culture shock when they arrive in Taiwan. Although many of the programmes are conducted in English, she encouraged applicants to consider taking the advantage of learning Mandarin language no matter which type of scholarships they apply for.
Successful awardees will be provided with flight tickets, housing, tuition fees, credit fees, insurance, and textbooks during their period of study in Taiwan.
Hon. Kenson Casimir, Minister for Education, Youth Development, Sports and Digital Transformation, encouraged applicants to take full advantage of the opportunities that are being made available.
“Forty-four students went to Taiwan last year, and that speaks volumes about what Taiwan is doing for Saint Lucia and the effort being made by the Ministry of Education to ensure that we have one university graduate per household in Saint Lucia, a goal that is very much achievable,” he explained.
Hon. Casimir added: “Most of you would be versed in understanding what is happening in the global village and seen some of the challenges our students face in places like Cuba and some of the other areas in Europe. But I just want to say that with Taiwan, there seems to be a symbiotic relationship between the Taiwanese Government and Saint Lucia that allows for smooth transition of our students from Saint Lucia into Taiwan, and, by and large, from Taiwan back to Saint Lucia.”
He thanked the Government of Taiwan for continuing to make these opportunities available to Saint Lucia, and also thanked Ambassador Su for the support that has been given to the Department of Youth Development and Sports.
He also had some important words of advice for the applicants: “Let’s continue to do our best to represent Saint Lucia. Many of you will be going to Taiwan, so you will effectively be ambassadors of Saint Lucia. Take full advantage of this opportunity by representing your country and yourselves very well, and come back to Saint Lucia and make a contribution to the overall development of our economy.”
During the briefing, Ms. Yiwen Chiu, Third Secretary at the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Saint Lucia, shared information on the various criteria and benefits of the three types of scholarship programmes. Mrs. Sheena James, Scholarship Assistant at the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Saint Lucia, and Mrs. Earline Jules-Justin, Human Resource Development Officer, Ministry of Education, Youth Development, Sports and Digital Transformation, shared information on the application process.
This year’s application process for the Taiwan Scholarships ends on Friday, March 13, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Caribbean Time (ECT). All application documents must be submitted to the Taiwan Embassy in Rodney Bay, Gros Islet, by that date and time, as late submissions will not be accepted.