Mariel Gonzales Tecson

Taiwan, a Safe Study Destination

Because Taiwan is close to the Philippines, I chose to study here. I know that studying away from my country will be difficult and lonely, but with Taiwan being close to my country, I can go home every now and then. This way, I can fully enjoy studying abroad. Another factor that convinced me to come to Taiwan is the safety. Being away from my family, it could lessen their worry knowing I am living my dream without my safety being in concern. Some people may view this as practical, but as a scientist myself, these two things are my biggest priorities, and Taiwan checked out these.

Chemistry at NSYSU

My bachelor's and master's degrees are both related to chemistry. I am interested in the research opportunities here in Taiwan. In my home country, most of my research is related to polymers, but I want to explore a new field of research, which Taiwan has a lot to offer. So, per recommendation from my previous co-advisor, I chose to join the lab of an excellent professor, Chun-Hu Chen. Additionally, the offered scholarship is reasonable and could make me live comfortably in Taiwan.

There are many nice things about studying at NSYSU. I find it most helpful that NSYSU has access to the Web of Science database, which allows us to access scientific literatures that are not free to access. There are also a lot of internship opportunities. I was able to go to USA and perform experiments there. I am currently a part of a project that is being funded by the Taiwanese government. Our work was featured by the Taiwanese media and also won awards. Although the award was not specifically given to me, but to our lab group, I am proud to be one of the contributors in this work.

I also love the open space in front of the academic office building. My work pushes me to think deeply and perform series of experiments to confirm my thoughts and hypothesis. Going there helps me calm down and the quiet environment helps me go back to myself again. After going there, I have more energy and I feel like I can start again.

Building Confidence in the Taiwanese Friendliness

When it comes to Mandarin learning, the challenge is probably the diction. I find it hard to speak Mandarin because the way Filipinos and Taiwanese enunciate words are very different. The school provides language classes which I think is helpful. At the same time, Taiwanese are very friendly and accepting of my broken Mandarin.

Living and studying here gave me a boost in my confidence. Back home, I have my friends and family that I can rely on, so I have a sort of comfort zone. As a foreigner in Taiwan, I am afraid that they might not like me or my culture, but I learned that Taiwanese are very accepting of other people, so living here encouraged me to be more confident.

Since I cannot speak Mandarin very well, I might find it hard to work here after graduation. But I will not close the possibility. I am happy working with my Taiwanese labmates; they can speak English quite well and they are all nice. I always have fun hanging out with them. Thankfully, they find my humor amusing, so we always laugh and make fun of each other. I think that I can work with Taiwanese well because of the good nature of Taiwanese.

This is also why I feel excited about the new joint master’s program in Global Citizenship offered in collaboration with SOAS, University of London, as it provides an international learning environment that aligns well with my background and future goals.

Advice for Prospective Students

For my fellow Filipinos, I will highly recommend studying in Taiwan. The scientific research in Taiwan is excellent and efficient, in which Filipino students will surely love and appreciate.