▎PEOPLE

The Office of Student Affairs at National Taiwan University (NTU) organized and hosted the 16th Global Initiatives Symposium in Taiwan (GIS Taiwan) at NTU, July 7 - 11, 2025. Over the past sixteen years, this student-organized academic forum has become a flagship platform connecting leaders from industry, government, and academia with promising student representatives from around the world. Its mission is to foster meaningful dialogue across generations, disciplines, and borders.

At this year’s opening ceremony, the strong show of institutional and societal support was palpable. NTU President Wen-Chang Chen offered encouraging remarks to the student organizing team, followed by distinguished keynote speakers, notably, Nelson Chang, Chairman of Taiwan Cement Corporation, and Chihchung Wu, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. A special highlight was the participation of Kai Koort, a renowned educator from Estonia, who had flown in to lead a featured panel discussion. The forum also welcomed several prominent industry leader-mentors who offered their direct, real-time feedback and insights to the student delegates. The closing ceremony featured inspiring speeches by Donghui Lu, Chairman of Micron Technology Taiwan, and Ming-Hsien Li, Chairman of TECO Electric & Machinery Co., Ltd., both of whom closed the event on a definite high note.

“Empowerment,” the theme of GIS Taiwan 2025, expressed the forum’s basic aim to unlock youth potential through interactive learning, global exposure, and mutual growth. In other words, the initiative was aimed to create a virtuous cycle of empowerment—“Taiwan empowers youth, youth empowers the world, and the world empowers Taiwan.” This theme was deeply resonant during an era when global interconnectedness and collaborative innovation are keys to solving complicated shared challenges. The five-day program included several main events, such as Panel Discussions, Mentor Guidance Sessions, and Impact Project Presentations, in which student teams showcased their proposed solutions to real-world issues. These sessions allowed participants to receive critical feedback from experienced mentors and leading academics, facilitating rich intergenerational exchanges and cross-sector thinking.

Beyond its academic rigor, the forum emphasized cross-cultural dialogue. The World Café event brought together 15 diplomats and foreign service officers as table hosts to engage in rotating small-group discussions with student participants. The Cultural Festival also invited a number of cultural offices and foreign missions in Taiwan to host booths, offering students opportunities to explore different cultures, expand international networks, and learn about study abroad and exchange opportunities.

This year’s GIS Taiwan brought together over 100 university and high school students from 10 countries, along with dozens of inspiring, informative speakers. Together, they explored future global trends and reflected on how young people can actually make a meaningful impact—not only through dialogue and intellectual leadership, but through tangible, empowered action.