About Our Program

WHAT IS VELD?

The VELD Fellowship Taiwan is an 18-month journey of self discovery and personal growth, exclusively for recent graduates of top U.S. colleges.

Given political, economic, and cultural interest in East Asia, we have worked to match demands and invigorate both the U.S. and the Taiwanese scene through youthful exchange. VELD has its values built into the name - we strive to bring about vocational, educational (including linguistic), and leadership development, all while exploring a new cultural landscape in Taipei under full financial support. 
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With two tracks to choose from, work in line with your own priorities and carve out your own adventure in Taiwan. The 2025 application cycle has concluded, please check back in November.

Vocation

Find your professional calling as you explore Taiwan's fast growing start up scene and work in a field of your choosing in areas ranging from Fintech to Hospitality and everything in between.

Language

Choose your track of either two or four intensive semesters of Mandarin learning at the National Taiwan Normal University in an immersive language environment.

Leadership

Take charge of developing content, guiding student enrichment, and teaching through part time educational consultant work and project based learning within the fellowship.​

Words from our Program Director

When I was 16, I shipped myself off to China for a summer language and culture program. The first week, I was overcome with homesickness. I’ve never even braved a sleepover before, so what was I doing in this homestay with another family? Over the next six weeks, I slowly started to adapt to the blazing Nanjing heat and familiarized myself with the sounds of the morning markets. At 16, I didn’t know what I wanted to study in college or who I was fundamentally, but after that summer, I knew I would be back in Asia. So I came back, again and again, seeking study abroad opportunities and fellowships just like VELD. To me, the thrill of cultural exchange lies in each individual connection I made--from my 10 year old host sister to the English teachers of rural Taiwan--a little piece of them lives with me. That is the purpose of the VELD fellowship: to provide an opportunity for recent graduates to explore their options outside of the status quo. Live abroad, learn a new language, try a different professional path. Make connections that you otherwise wouldn’t. Be curious in your potential. As VELD director, I hope you walk away from this experience sharing a part of yourself with Taiwan.
Cindy

From Zhang Qian to the 21st century:
Our Inspiration

In the 2nd century B.C.E, Zhang Qian was sent on an expedition by Emperor Wu across the continent. Through his efforts, the Silk Road was established, thus marking the beginning of East-West globalization and over a thousand years of economic development.

The original silk road was instrumental in the exchange of goods between cultures that had never before been so concretely connected. In the 21st century the world is now engaged in global trade, with the internet allowing for the unfiltered flow of information. In spite of, or perhaps owing to, this, nations sometimes seem more divided than ever. The VELD Fellowship offers a new road of cultural exchange, to promote lasting partnerships and relationships between East and West once more.

Ready for Taiwan?