The 47th American Education Fair was held on March 19-20, 2016 in the CPC building in Taipei. The bi-annual event was co-organized by American Education Center, Taipei and American International Education Foundation (AIEF), Pasadena, California for the purpose of promoting American education in Taiwan. It also serves as a platform for U.S. educational institutions to recruit Taiwan students to study in the United States.

Prior to the Fair, several events were organized by American Education Center in Taipei to help fair delegates familiarize with the recruiting market in Taiwan.

On the morning of March 18^th, led by Dr. Hsien-Chien Kuh, the executive director of Taiwan operations, the fair delegates visited AIT (American Institute in Taiwan), a U.S. Embassy-equivalent institute in Taiwan. The Director of AIT's American Center, Ms. Alys Spensley, introduced the functions of AIT in Taiwan and provided an update on the current policy of student and visitor visa. The EducationUSA Adviser, Stella Chiu then introduced the studying abroad trend of Taiwanese students in the U.S. and the current status of exchange programs between the two countries. Lastly, The Commercial Specialist of AIT, Ms. Grace Tao shared information about how AIT has held events to assist U.S. Schools to connect with Taiwan students.

Immediately following the AIT visit, fair delegates visited American Education Center in Taipei. After Dr. Kuh’s brief introduction to the AEC office, a casual lunch was provided at the center while discussing topics such as American schools’ recruiting needs, possible collaboration models with local institutions in Taiwan, and how to better prepare students to study on U.S. campuses. All school delegates were introduced to the facilities and functions of American Education Center in Taipei, as well as famous tourist attractions in Taipei.

A Pre-fair orientation for the fair delegates was held on the morning of March 19^th. Complimentary coffee and snacks were provided at the event. Dr. Kuh gave a warm greeting to all the fair delegates before the presentation. Ms. Janet Lo of American Education Center in Taipei then presented updates on Taiwan’s higher education system, recent educational reforms, international bilateral agreements, scholarship programs, and study-abroad trends. Lo stated that the government in Taiwan has a standing policy that encourages students to study abroad and has recently launched an interest-free loan program to students via local city education departments. She also clarified the new draftee policy that allows male students over 18 years of age to study abroad prior to serving their military service. Further, Ms. Lo pointed out that U.S. education has been the top choice of Taiwanese students’ for the past five decades. Since 1995, Taiwan has been sending over 14,000 students annually to attend U.S schools at varies levels. Lo also provided a written outline by American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) on the newly released Visa Waiver Program for Taiwanese residents. Since its implementation in October 2012, AIT has experienced an over 30% increase in short-term visits to the U.S., including short-term studies.

Extensive pre-fair publicity and promotional activities were administered by American Education Center prior to the fair. Activities included extensive coverage via social networks and radios. Ms. Megan Doerr from Central Michigan University was interviewed on ICRT, an English radio station in Taiwan. Ms. Lauren Kao from American Education Center was interviewed on Fu-Hsing Radio Station, a major Chinese radio station in Taiwan. In addition, American Education Center also launched various promotional activities via following channels:

On Saturday and Sunday, March 19-20^th, the 2016 Spring American Education Fair was held in the China Petroleum Corporation (CPC) building, located close to the famous landmark Taipei 101, one of the tallest buildings in the world and a major tourist attraction. Even though the weather conditions on both fair days weren’t ideal, there were still many students and parents that came to the fair. At the venue, every school booth was assigned a pre-trained interpreter, in yellow vest, to assist American school representatives to communicate with the Fair visitors. In addition, each booth was also provided with a student volunteer to be school representative’s assistant. At the end of the Fair, surplus school materials at each booth were collected by the student volunteers for display in the library of American Education Center in Taipei.

A total of 708 student data was collected from the event, including the pre-fair registered as well as the on-site registered during the fair.

We were honored to have Ms. Jing-Ya Huang from the Ministry of Education to present the topic “Global Study - Fulfill Your Dream” that shared lots of beneficial information about study abroad. Several school representatives gave seminars at the Fair venue to students. Seminar topics included “Save up to 50% on your college tuition: Learn about the best kept secrets of two-year colleges” by Cascadia College; “How to Choose Your University in the USA” by University of North Texas; “Study in Savannah College of Art and Design” by Savannah College of Art & Design; “HOBY World Leadership Congress” by by HOBY alumni; and etc.

As one of the feature services of American Education Fair in Taipei, student data are collected through a student tracking system during the fair and the service is Free to all participant schools. The student tracking system identifies and records prospect students who visited each school’s booth. At the Fair end, American Education Center in Taipei compiles the student record into a student database. Once the data verification is done, student data will be sent to each participating school according to the visiting record at each booth.

Complimentary copies of the 2016 Spring Fair Guide were distributed to all Fair visitors. The Fair Guide covers participant schools’ profiles with brief introductions, venue layout, seminar schedules, school advertisements, and articles regarding studying in the U.S.A. Reference materials, such as books, catalogs, and UScampus Website were on display at the fair to help students search for information about study in the USA.

The 2016 Fall Fair will be held on October 22th and 23th, 2016 in Taipei.

Registration is now open Online at:
https://www.aief.org.tw/SchoolFair_201610/Default.php
American schools are encouraged to complete the registration now to take the early-bird benefit. For more information, please email American Education Center in Taipei at service@aief.org.tw or call 886-2-2705-8840.