TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan will train 100,000 overseas engineers so the country can become one of the global top-three forces in AI by 2028, Economics Minister Kuo Jyh-huei (郭智輝) said Wednesday (Sept. 11).

A program currently under evaluation would invite 25,000 students per year from overseas over the next four years, Radio Taiwan International reported. The students would be encouraged to study AI and be complemented by the same number of Taiwanese students, according to Kuo.

As a result, there would be 200,000 AI engineers available in 2028, enough to fulfill the demand for talent in the relevant sector, the minister said. With this amount of talent and the right environment, Taiwan would count among the top three world powers in AI, he added.

Kuo said the development of an AI software environment needed the support of 50 million people, so he wanted to link up Taiwan to Kyushu in Japan and Luzon in the Philippines to reach a population from 70 million to 80 million.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) also sees the Philippines as a source of talent and as a counterweight to the aging population in Taiwan and Japan. Kuo called for more investment in research and development to help businesses face the challenges of the future.