One of IDAS students, Manoj Kumar Panigrahi from India was honored for his contributions to public services by Ministry of Education (MOE). A total of 13 beneficiaries of the Taiwan Scholarship and Huayu Enrichment Scholarship Program were recognized by the Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs for outstanding performances during their stay in the country. Panigrahi has delivered over 100 speeches and organized activities at around 50 elementary and junior high schools countrywide in an effort to promote local understanding of India.

Panigrahi has a keen interest in Mandarin and politics. This makes him came to Taiwan to study Asia-Pacific, specialized in cross-strait relations, and decision-making governance. According to him, many people, moreover young students misunderstood Indian. He experienced being stereotyped and discriminated in the early stage of his study. He faced all of this with patience and chose to communicate with students in an empathetic attitude. This also become a driving force for him to introduce Indian culture to local students.

Panigrahi added that Taiwan’s recent “mask diplomacy”, providing scholarships for students from various countries, diplomacy economic considerations, and decision-making judgments behind Taiwan’s policies are all his research interests. Because of his research on both sides of the strait, he looks forward to the opportunity to go to Kinmen and Matsu to visit the traces of war history. After graduation, he also wants to stay in Taiwan to engage in teaching or research and continue to in-depth research on cross-strait and Asia-Pacific relations.

Link to more stories of Manoj: taiwantoday.tw/news