From Dresden to Taipei

I am studying electrical engineering at the TU Dresden. As part of this, I am able to participate in the STIPT (Semiconductor Talent Incubation Program Taiwan), which is not exclusively available to students of the TU Dresden. This programme gave me the opportunity to study in Taiwan for one semester and subsequently complete an internship at TSMC. After months of preparation, my journey finally began on 29 August 2026.

Shortly after 6:00 am, I boarded the train from Dresden to Frankfurt Airport. During checkin at the airport, I was asked (they only asked and didn’t check) when my return flight was – which I dont’t know yet. Fortunately, there are so-called ‚onward tickets‘, which are basically reservations in one’s name for a flight. The service costs around €10–16 and the reservations are valid for 48 hours. Using this got me onto the plane to Beijing. As we approached Beijing, I was greeted by a beautiful sunrise!

The Taiwanese man sitting next to me on the plane from Beijing to Taipei was incredibly nice. He gave me a few recommendations of places to check out while I am in Taipei, and offered to show me Taipei’s public transport system, even though it would have meant a lot of waiting for him (baggage, entry controls, sim card buying). In the end, I convinced him that I would manage to get to the hostel on my own.

The first challenge I was facing in Taiwan was, to buy a SIM card for my approximate 180-day stay. However, due to my multiple-entry visa stating a stay of 90 days, I could only find offers for 90 days at the airport in Taipei, so I postponed this mission until the next day, when I found a SIM card for 180 days from Taiwan Mobile (another good option for a 180-day SIM card would probably be Chunghwa Telecom). For those participating in the STIPT: for TSMC you will need a so called mobile barcode which is linked to your mobile number. To save yourself the hassle of changing the number after 90 days and thus your mobile barcode, try to get a 180-day contract in the first place!

After around 38 hours of travelling in total, I finally arrived at the hostel where I will be staying for the whole semester at NTUST, the university in Taipei. After I had moved in into my tiny room – ‚moved in‘ is an exaggeration here. The room is approx. 1.6 m x 2.7 m, with a bed and a built-in desk by the window, but no other furniture. Once I had settled in and taken a short break, I went on an evening exploration tour of the neighbourhood, including the nightmarked across the road, and the Taipei 101.

If you want to see more pictures, please have a look at the „Bilder“ section or directly go to my first exploration of Taipei.