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Q&A about NCKU
Some questions and answers about NCKU through email. Identifying details removed:
(1) How do I research the lecturer without him knowing? The reason is that I would like to approach some of his former students as to whether he would be helpful. My reasons are sincere as sometimes first impressions can sometimes deceive. While I am excited, I am also scared about taking a new road in life.
I can totally understand. You should do your research. I think it would be alright for you to ask him to send you his CV with academic publications, and this probably where his Chinese/Japanese name would be, perhaps with some of the students he worked with. It’s also perfectly alright for you to ask whether you can get in touch with some of his students. Another way to do that would be to contact the department office and ask them about the PhD students. I strongly recommend heading over to the university, walking around and talking to students in the labs.
(2) Do you think that the amount of money provided by the scholarship would be sufficient? I notice in your comments that the dorms would not be great for Western educated students. Is it because the students have no privacy and that they can't stay together with their gf or partners or something?
Yeah, that’s part of it. Some dorms have Asian style toilets which are hard for westerners to deal with and 3-4 people in one room is a bit too crowded. But, recently the school launched new dorms for international students which is terrific, but it costs a lot more and isn’t free.
For me, ~7000NT$ is not enough. I know quite a few students that live on that – it’s possible, but it’s not easy. You should also note that you can’t expect the scholarship for atleast 3 months after your arrival. It takes time for the paper work to make it, so come with enough money to get you started.
(3) I am planning to take a low budget airline from Malaysia to Taiwan. Do you recommend any particular airlines or good travel websites? How do I get from Taiwan to Tainan in the cheapest way possible. I am planning to take the high speed train and how do I purchase tickets?
I suggest taking a flight to Kaohsiung if you can and from Kaohsiung it’s a cheap ride in the MRT (30 minutes) and the train (40-60 minutes) and you’re there. From the Taoyuan airport it’s minimum 3 hours if you take the high-speed-rail (upto 1350NT$) and 5-6 hoursif you take the bus/train (~300-600NT$). I personally purchased all my tickets online with either China Airlines, Eva Air or HK budget airlines. I’m sure Malaysia has some that are even cheaper.
(4) How receptive are Taiwanese towards foreigners generally? While my professor is Japanese and seems to speak good English, is it necessary to master Mandarin?
To get close to locals – definitely. Some are very curious about foreigners but there are only a selected few that make the efforts to approach foreigners, especially if they don’t look like foreigners (which I’m guessing is your case being a Malaysian) or are not native English speakers. Chinese is a long challenging journey and many give up on it but you should try and atleast attend the free courses given at the university.
(5) Do you know of any cheap and safe hotels around NCKU? I also plan to bring my laptop along to speak with the professor.
Across the street from the front exit of the train station is a building that has huge signs outside floors 4,10,12,13 of hotels. Take the elevator up and bargain your price. It’s not top notch, but it’s cheap (~500-600NT$) and it’s clean. Some of those are sometimes used as a love hotel for Taiwanese couples that wanna take time away, but you’ll come to see that “love motels” are actually the best value for money in Taiwan. In any case, it wouldn’t get any cheaper than that in the NCKU area. NCKU, BTW, is right on the other side of the train station – 5 minutes walk.
(6) I am planning to spend about NTU 6000 -8000 for a 4 day stay not including the airflight. Do you think that this amount is sufficient?
Yeah, definitely. More than enough. I don’t know about prices in Malaysia, but Tainan is very very cheap.
(7) I can't ride a bicycle or a bike. How do the majority of students travel around NCKU? For a first time traveller, how do u go to the Civil and Environmental Engineering faculty? How much would the taxi or bus cost?
You wouldn’t need a taxi. It’s within 5 minutes walking distance. Exit from the back of the train station, walk up the street for a few minutes and you’ll see the main entrance on your left. Stop any student there and ask or look at the map. It’ll be relatively easy to find. Taxis, if you really need them, require that you have your desired destination written for you in Chinese in advance. Taxi drivers do not speak English.
I honestly have so many questions right now and if possible, I hope to meet up with you in person. By the way, I think you are doing a great service for the international student community of NCKU. I am pretty stressed out now with these options in life. I am trying to turn my life about and I appreciate any advice or assistance that you could provide.
I’ll point out that I don’t live in Taiwan anymore. Better get in touch with some of the other students that are studying with NCKU now.
Good luck.
