Internships

Before I had arrived in Taiwan in the June of 2018 I had never stepped foot outside the United States. My interest in Asia started in the beginning of the second semester of my Freshman year, only months before I had even heard about the Asia Global Biztech Program. Combined with this lack of experience and being the youngest in the group I was eager to embark on not just an adventure in Taiwan, but a challenge. That’s come to be the case and I have found myself learning more and doing more here than I could back home. It’s one thing to read about US-Asia Pacific relations and it’s another to be on the ground level of those relations. My time interning at the Taiwan-USA Industrial Cooperation Promotion Office (TUSA) is a great example of this. TUSA is a special program of the Industrial Technology Research Institute and the Industrial Development Bureau under the auspices of Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs. Our office promotes industrial cooperation between the United States and Taiwan in critical areas such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, precision machinery, green energy, biotechnology, and information communication technologies. In many ways TUSA serves a vital connection between some of my main interests; emerging technologies, international trade, and diplomacy. When I read an article now about US-Taiwan or US-China-Taiwan relations I have some experience that I can draw on to understand competing theories.