The U.S.-Taiwan Semiconductor Education Alliance

As the United States and Taiwan deepen their semiconductor partnership, can they build a talent pipeline resilient enough to sustain it? Recorded live in Orlando at the 2026 U.S.-Taiwan Semiconductor Higher Education Networking Event, on the sidelines of the NAFSA: Association of International Educators 2026 Annual Conference, host Channing Lee sits down with three university leaders shaping that future: Dr. Lin Chi-Hung, President of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan; Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson, President of San Jose State University in the heart of Silicon Valley; and Dr. Reza Abdolvand, Professor and Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Central Florida. Fresh off the signing of a new memorandum of understanding, they dig past the buzzwords into what an education partnership really requires, from micro-credentials to cross-border student exchanges, why education may be the ultimate win-win in U.S.-Taiwan relations, and how each side defines success. Strait Forward is a podcast by the Special Competitive Studies Project.