It’s been so many years, I’ll try not to forget the details!
In general, the interview is to make sure that they won’t give a lot of money to send someone who just wants to travel for free. The questions were somehow oriented to make sure to select candidates who know why they wanted to go to Taiwan, why this university, why this department, why this program, etc.
So here are my thoughts:
1/ Convince the jury that you know Taiwan and can adapt to the life here.
It’s one thing to know what one wants to study but another to go to another country, adapt to another culture and learning/speaking another language. Some questions will be oriented to obtain these answers. You’ll have to convince that:
a) you know the basics of Taiwanese culture (if you came here before, tell your story)
b) you’ve already learnt some Mandarin, or you can already speak Mandarin, if you have a certificate it’s the best. If not, convince the jury that you’re willing to learn Mandarin
c) maybe in more general, show that you can adapt to new environment very well
The reason is that the jury doesn’t want to select someone who will leave Taiwan after one or two semesters.
2/ Convince the jury that you know why you want a Taiwanese degree.
a) Why do you want to study in Taiwan? Focus on the place at this point. What is so special in the Taiwanese undergraduate/graduate environment that makes you want to come here and not studying in your own country for example?
b) Why this university? Why this department? Why this program? Focus on the university and department you’re applying for at this point. Show that you’ve made your homework. For instance, I knew exactly where I wanted to study my Ph.D. because I was already in touch with one professor and made one internship in her lab. I had taked courses in the department as an exchange student. So I was completely aware of the possibilities, the workload, etc. The more precise the answers, the more reassuring you are to the jury
c) What is your project? The answer depends on what kind of degree you’re seeking
→ BA: What do you plan to do after getting your degree? Entering graduate school or working? In Taiwan or abroad?
→ MA and Ph.D.: What is your research project? Do you have topics in mind? If yes, who are you going to write your thesis/dissertation with?
The last question is very tricky. I remember that there were three people in the jury, two Taiwanese officials and one academic expert. The expert asked me very tricky questions, such as ‘do you know Dr. blablabla from [research institution in Taiwan] who works in the same domain as you?’ ‘To what extent would you say that your research project is similar or differ from Dr. blablabla? Why not choosing Dr. blablabla as your supervisor?’ I think I could convince because of this question, because it shows the degree of maturity of the project. Simply, I just convinced them that they weren’t going to throw someone into the wild with money!
These questions are mega important, there are many cases of international students with this scholarship who dropped out after two semesters as they realized that the department they got in wasn’t as ideal as they thought… So if you’re sure of what you’re doing, don’t hesitate to contact the professors in the department beforehand, and during the interview, don’t hesitate to say ‘I’ve exchanged emails with Prof. blablabla on April blabla 2023’. Again, the more detailed the better!
And finally, there is the factor of luck, like izzy said! But be aware that it’s always possible that the jury selects 0 applicant in the end if none of the interview is positive, so the best way is to be prepared!
Good luck!!
