A new article from Taiwan Insight explores the growing collaboration between the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and NTU’s Overseas Internship Program (OIP), tracing how this partnership has already begun shaping the academic and professional development of NTU students.
Kew, home to over 350 scientists and one of the world’s largest and most significant plant and fungal collections, has long been at the forefront of global conservation research. Its work informs international policy, advances species discovery and restoration, and provides insights critical to addressing the planet’s biodiversity crisis. For NTU students, the opportunity to train in such an environment is both rare and profoundly enriching.
Since 2023, NTU and Kew have co-developed a dedicated internship pathway enabling students to gain hands-on experience in taxonomy, seed conservation, molecular biology, bioinformatics and herbarium science. These placements immerse students in Kew’s collaborative, mission-driven research culture — one that strongly aligns with NTU’s commitment to environmental stewardship and global scientific cooperation.
As the partnership has evolved, Kew has welcomed delegations from NTU’s Office of International Affairs, including Vice President for International Affairs Professor Hsiao-Wei Yuan and Executive Vice President Professor Shih-Torng Ding. Through these exchanges — which included discussions with scientific teams, meetings with NTU students on placement and joint exploration of new research priorities — both institutions identified clear opportunities to deepen collaboration. As the article notes, several new initiatives are already underway, and by 2026, the placement scheme is expected to advance to an even more ambitious level.
Students who joined the placements contributed to substantial research projects and integrated quickly into their scientific teams. As the article highlights, Kew staff were deeply impressed by their confidence, commitment and academic ability. The experience gave NTU students exposure to world-class collections, specialised laboratory environments and collaborative research cultures that are difficult to replicate elsewhere — offering a meaningful step forward in their development as emerging biodiversity specialists.
NTU is deeply grateful to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for their generosity, expertise and unwavering commitment to nurturing Taiwan’s next generation of biodiversity experts. Partnerships of this calibre expand what is possible for our students and strengthen Taiwan’s contribution to global conservation science.
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Full Article: https://taiwaninsight.org/2025/11/17/supporting-the-next-generation-of-taiwanese-biodiversity-experts
Internship Opportunities at Kew: https://internshipabroad.ntu.edu.tw/organization/the-royal-botanic-gardens-kew
