Details

• Taiwan (Chinese Taipei)
• BaWiSo-19
• Undergraduate
• SoSe 2026
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months

1. Preparation

I traveled by plane from Vienna to Taipei, which was very convenient. Prepare for very humid weather, it feels much hotter when it’s warm weather, and much colder when it’s cool weather. ACs are everywhere, but there is no heating in buildings. Be aware that in Airport, money exchange is actually not bad at all. Keep in mind that almost everywhere they accept only cash, although ATMs are convenient. Don’t choose accommodation too far away from university. For example, I lived in Daan District and commuted to NCCU, it was not bad since it’s not so far away (Prices in Daan and Xiniu area are a bit higher than in the rest of the city). I used myroomsabroad website for choosing apartment, it’s quite overpriced and targeted for foreigners, but it’s reliable. Some people that were choosing apartments via Facebook ended up with no apartment or had problems. If you are not EU citizen and you are not visa free with Taiwan, do a multiple visa for 180(!) days. It’s very long story but just do longer visa and you won’t have problems.

2. Accommodation

Don‘t choose dorms provided by NCCU, they are awful. Some of my friends lived in the NCCU iHouse, and said that it is quite good and very cheap. I also thought to live there, but they didn’t give me a place. Disadvantage of living there, is the fact that NCCU campus and iHouse both are located on the edge of the city and you’ll need a lot of time to commute anywhere. As mentioned, I lived in Daan District. It was a shared flat. Although rent for my room was pretty high (620 Euro per month), I was disappointed with the apartment. People there have apparently lower standards of how apartments should be, or maybe it is just because of me. Bathroom was very strange, old, dirty and even didn’t have curtain (it’s actually very common there that there is no separate shower cabin or curtain). Kitchen was so bad that I almost never went in it. Be aware of that.

3. Academic life at host university

Actually, I liked NCCU. Although it’s on the edge of the city, far away from everything and not fancy at all, there are a lot of good things in it. Taiwanese students are very kind and helpful. They tried to help me during the semester. For example, one girl, that I didn’t know, started translating me everything when professor started talking Chinese. Or, I was waiting for the food on campus, it was something like festival, and it started raining a bit while I was in the queue. Girl behind me in the queue immediately covered me with her umbrella. And it was always like that, I have a lot of stories like these. Professors are very nice. Although, for some of them it was hard to speak English, their approach and attitude was very nice. If you ask them to do something (e.g. grade you a bit faster), they’ll do it almost on the next day. If you write someone a letter, they answer it very fast as well, always trying to help. If you didn’t manage to get in the specific course, don’t worry, they always try their best. My personal recommendation is Political Economy course with professor Po. It was pleasure to attend this course, actually, it was Masters course. I also liked the fact that you can play on their tennis courts, paying just few Euros for the whole semester. I went to the gym on campus once, but I didn’t like it. Actually, studying there was easier than at WU, and professors grade you very well

5. Every day life in the host country

Public transport is worse than in Vienna, but it was still good. Especially I liked the fact that you can commute to nearby cities or attractions just for few Euros. Taipei hasn’t a lot of things to visit, but I liked the nature a lot. Just search for nearby nature parks, like 1 Thousand islands lake, Yehliu Geopark, Yangminshan National Park. They are really wonderful. Try surfing near the city (Wushigang Beach). You can commute everywhere by bus for very low price, it’s much cheaper to travel around than to places near Vienna. In the city it’s extremely safe and people are very polite. To understand how safe it is: in some busses and mentor stations, there are umbrellas in case of unexpected rain, you can use them and then hang them in another bus. The probability that someone would still something from you is zero. I liked Daan Sports Center gym, in which you can pay for single entrance. It costs only 1.5 euro for entry

6. Testimonial

To be honest, didn’t like the city. It feels a bit ugly and doesn’t have many things to see. Nevertheless, I enjoyed Taiwan for its kind people, incredible nature and ocean. Exchange semester made me grow mentally and did broaden my horizons