Case Study 1
Overseas Workshops
The purpose of the TaiwanICDF’s program of
international workshops is to support the development
of human resources training in developing countries and
share the comparative advantages Taiwan gained during
its own development. Each year we adjust the range of
topics offered to reflect international trends and partner
countries’ needs, which enables participants to get the
most out of learning synergies.
Improving Project Transfer by Improving Partners’
Capacity
In keeping with the priority areas of operation
determined in our medium-term strategy for 2011-2016
and in coordination with relevant TaiwanICDF projects, we
are assisting partner countries to train local personnel and
develop the professional skills of staff from cooperating
organizations. By enhancing the capacity of stakeholders
involved in our bilateral projects, we can transfer project-
related technologies with confidence and ensure that
projects can be implemented sustainably.
We organized our first overseas workshop – a
Workshop on Tilapia Culture – in Honduras in 2011. We
dispatched Taiwanese experts to impart their skills and
know-how, and design a localized curriculum whose
details were customized to reflect the genuine state of
the aquaculture industry in Central America.
Given the outstanding results of that particular
course, we expanded on the idea this past year with:
a Workshop on Crop Production and Cultivation in The
Gambia, a Workshop on Agricultural Marketing in St.
Lucia, a Seminar on the Bamboo Industry in Guatemala, an
advanced-level Workshop on Tilapia Culture in Honduras,
a Workshop on Hog Breeding and Raising in the Solomon
Islands, a Workshop on Micro-sized Enterprise Formation
and Creation in Burkina Faso and a Workshop on the
Project Cycle in São Tomé and Príncipe.
Promoting Customized, Localized Curricula
An example of localized curricula can be seen in
our Workshop on Crop Production and Cultivation in The
Gambia, which was organized in response to the four- to
six-year project migration programs in place at a number
of our overseas technical missions. The workshop was
designed to enhance partners’ capacity to take on
TaiwanICDF projects and meet the needs of local rice
production programs. The workshop divided trainees
into rice production extension trainees and TaiwanICDF
project coordination trainees. The primary theme for the
workshop was the sustainable development and operation
of rice cultivation programs.
The content of the workshop was designed to closely
meet local conditions, the environment and local needs
with a curriculum customized to promote ownership.
A number of Taiwanese experts were dispatched to
give lectures on the workshop’s main topics – rice
seed production, seed selection and breeding – while
students were mainly agricultural technology and
extension specialists hailing from The Gambia, Haiti and
Swaziland. The workshop’s curriculum and experience-
sharing activities improved rice seed production, selection
techniques and management skills among professionals
in Africa and Haiti. This will improve the quality of their
human resources, help to establish rice extension
systems and promote sustainable social and economic
development in the region.
In addition to raising the TaiwanICDF’s international
visibility, these overseas workshops allow us to get
closer to the needs of trainees and their countries. This
is a win-win situation for all. Taiwan can pass on its own
experiences more successfully, and Taiwanese experts
can provide a more interactive experience within partner
countries than perhaps they would in Taiwan.
Participants attending the Workshop on Agricultural Marketing in St. Lucia
visit a fish farm working with Taiwan’s local technical mission. Hands-on
training activities like this foster growth among teachers and students alike.
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