On September 11, 2020, the International Master’s Program of Applied Economics and Social Development (IMES) held an orientation for new students which was also attended by the program’s mentors Prof. Huilin Li (Department of Economics), Prof. Lizhong Hu (Department of Sociology) and Prof. Courtney Work (Department of Ethnology). We warmly welcome our freshmen from Taiwan and all over the world. After the formal welcome procedures indoors, we continued our activities with a hike to Zhinan Mountain and Maokong which ended with a dinner, both jointly organized with other International Programs (IDAS and IMAS).

According to Mei-Chuan Wei, Associate Professor at GIDS and new director of IMES, fewer students participated compared to previous years due to COVID-19. Freshmen that could not attend are either in quarantine or waiting for entry permissions.

Prof. Wei encourages international students to seize the opportunity to learn Chinese, Hokkien, Hakka and indigenous languages. She also mentioned that the Taiwanese are very welcoming. New regulations require the wearing of masks in public transportation and some enclosed spaces. If you forget to bring a mask, you can ask around and the locals usually can provide you one. Furthermore, the director encourages her students to make use of NCCU and Taiwan as their base to explore other parts of the country. The program also hopes that the international program will help its students to broaden their horizon.

IMES was established in 2014. It is the first English-taught master’s degree program in Taiwan that uses economic analysis as the main way to conduct social and economic development research. It is divided into Social Security and Welfare, Economic Analysis and Policy Evaluation, and Environment and Resources as three tracks in the program.

Under the careful management of the previous program directors, the popularity of the course at home and abroad has gradually increased, as there are more domestic and foreign students applying to the program.

IMES is a highly international program. Students mainly come from Asia and America (including Central and South America, such as Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua and other North American countries, as well as North American countries such as the United States and Canada). Prof. Wei said that although IMES has only been established for only six years, the development of the academic program is very significant. Outstanding students at home and abroad are welcome to apply.