NTU Beyond Borders is not a single program run by a single office. It is a university-wide framework that brings together the Office of International Affairs, the Office of Academic Affairs, the Office of Student Affairs, the D-School, and other units across campus. Programs that once operated separately now share one structure and one goal: to make global mobility a real option for every student.
The framework rests on three pillars. Academic Mobility builds international learning into a student’s studies through exchange, dual degrees, summer and short-term courses, and collaborative online courses (COIL) that bring international classmates to students who remain on campus. Experiential Learning takes students into research and professional settings abroad through overseas research internships, overseas internships, and overseas traineeships. Student Advocacy Learning supports initiatives that students lead themselves, including club exchanges, overseas service teams, international reading groups, and Explore + SDGs. With more than ten programs across these three pillars, students can begin wherever their interest lies, whether in a course, a research question, a career goal, or a cause.
What holds the framework together is a simple commitment: whatever a student’s discipline, academic record, background, or financial means, there should be a way for them to take part. Instead of asking which students are ready to go abroad, the initiative asks what keeps the rest from going, and then works to remove it. Every program carries its own subsidies or awards, and economically disadvantaged students can apply for additional support through the Dream Field Comprehensive Support Program, so that cost does not decide who goes. Participating offices also guide students through each stage, from application and pre-departure preparation to support while they are abroad, so that unfamiliar procedures do not become one more obstacle.
Within this framework, the Office of International Affairs leads three programs under the Experiential Learning pillar. The Overseas Research Internship places students in laboratories at partner universities, where they work alongside host faculty on ongoing research. The Overseas Internship opens doors to international organizations and enterprises, giving students a way abroad even when a full semester of exchange does not fit their course load. The Overseas Traineeship, launched in 2025 with the NTU System (NTU, NTUST, and NTNU), offers shorter, guided visits to industries and institutions abroad. For many students, it is a first step that makes a longer commitment, such as a research internship, a year of exchange, or graduate study overseas, feel within reach.
The result is a wide range of experiences under one initiative: a year of exchange, seven days of SDG fieldwork, a club-led service project in a partner community, or an international degree student interning in a third country. The articles that follow take a closer look at how each unit has put this framework into practice. The Office of Academic Affairs shows how international learning is being built into the curriculum, the Office of Student Affairs shares how students lead their own projects abroad, and the D-School explores how fieldwork on the Sustainable Development Goals opens new paths into the world. Together, they show how NTU is working to make global mobility an equal opportunity for every student.
NTU Beyond Borders - 2026 Okinawa: Blue Economy and Tech Revitalization
Yu-Chieh Yu presents her research at Washington University in St. Louis. After a bachelor’s in physics and a move into electrical engineering for her master’s, she spent a summer on a deep-learning project that identifies tumor regions in medical images. Working beside established researchers turned a general interest into a clear goal: a PhD abroad.
NTU x Local Hope Traineeship in Guatemala: Maya Heritage & Community Learning. Students listen to hymns of praise with Mam locals at the sacred crater lake Chicabal. Participant Shan-Yu Wu arrived uneasy about facing an unfamiliar culture alone, but exploring Antigua and Panajachel independently and speaking Spanish every day turned that unease into newfound confidence.
Wei-Chin Wang (left) and fellow intern Chu-Rong Chen (right) outside Ambarella’s office in Silicon Valley. Having transferred into electrical engineering and taken on a double major, Wang had no room in his schedule for a semester of exchange. The Overseas Internship gave him another way abroad.