Under the influence of globalization, issues related to development are increasingly coming to the forefront, making Development Studies one of the most significant disciplines in the international social sciences community. Our institute has long been concentrating on this academic realm. Thus in order to respond to this global changing era, the institute was renamed the Graduate Institute of Development Studies in 2008. This new name and new direction will keep us moving toward the target of the integration of interdisciplinary teaching and research, and allow for deep and broad exploration of the theories and policies of national and international development. By focusing on the modules of Contemporary China as well as Taiwan and the Asia-Pacific region, we hope to integrate the disciplines of political science, economics and sociology in our teaching and research of issues including development of Taiwan, cross-strait relations, development of China, developmental relations between Taiwan and the Asia-Pacific region, and, finally, research related to sustainable development.
In the Contemporary China module, in addition to research of the multi-faceted development of Mainland China, we also stress cross-strait comparison of institutions and developmental experiences, emphasizing the status quo and also future developments on both sides of the Strait. In the realm of academic research we have developed a complementary working relationship with the Graduate Institute of East Asia Studies of N.C.C.U., which is more focused on regional studies of Mainland China.
In the Taiwan and Asia-Pacific module, we focus on the political, economic, social and cultural aspects of the Taiwanese developmental experience, carrying out teaching and research across different disciplines, making comparisons between countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and thus highlighting similarities and differences between development in Taiwan and that of our neighbors.
GIDS has done well in promoting international academic exchanges. Our faculty has excellent research performance in the international academic community, We cherish this tradition and encourage our students to participate actively in similar international exchange programs.
In the future, GIDS will not only work closely with other departments and institutes in the College of Social Sciences for interdisciplinary integration on development studies, but also will seek for international cooperation in achieving excellence in the national and international academic area. GIDS likes to play both as the platform for interdisciplinary training for students on development studies and as the landmark of academic excellence.
