Reports that up to 300 Indonesian students were forced to work in a contact lenses factory in Taiwan has led to the closure of its internship program.

The Taiwanese government is looking to lower restrictions for international students to remain after graduation and access work rights, in a move to bolster the country’s professional workforce, fill skills shortages, and combat population decline.

In a country where the population growth rate is less than 1% and 70% of people are over the age of 25, setting up strategies to secure a fresh flow of skilled labour will be crucial to its future success. Beckie Smith looks at how Taiwan's New Southbound Policy will use international higher education to do just that.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Education has announced a three-year, multi-million dollar program of higher education internationalisation initiatives as part of its New Southbound Policy.