Taiwan Student Benefits

Taiwan Student Benefits Tracker

A comprehensive system to help Taiwan university students (.edu.tw) discover, track, and claim 50+ free subscriptions, cloud credits, and developer tools.

What This Skill Does

1. Discover - Shows all available benefits organized by category, with eligibility info
2. Track - Generates a personal tracker.json to monitor claim status
3. Remind - Creates scheduled reminders (Windows Task Scheduler / macOS launchd / Linux cron)
4. Guide - Walks through the application process for each benefit

Quick Start

When the user asks about student benefits, follow this flow:

Step 1: Assess Eligibility

Ask the user:

• Do you have an active .edu.tw email address?
• Have you already applied for GitHub Student Developer Pack?
• What's your OS? (Windows / macOS / Linux)

Step 2: Show the Catalog

Read references/benefits-catalog.md for the full list of 50+ benefits organized by category. Present a summary table of the most valuable items first:

Tier 1 - High Value (apply first):

Tier 2 - Apply anytime (no Pack needed):

• Notion Plus, MS 365, Autodesk, Cursor Pro, AWS Educate, Google Cloud $300

Tier 3 - Learning & Certs (free, no verification):

• Coursera Financial Aid, Kaggle Learn, Microsoft Learn, IBM SkillsBuild

Step 3: Generate Tracker

Create student_benefits_tracker.json in the user's preferred directory. Use the template from scripts/generate_tracker.py or write it directly:

jsonCopy code
{
  "created": "YYYY-MM-DD",
  "edu_email": "user@school.edu.tw",
  "github_pack_status": "pending|approved|not_applied",
  "github_pack_approved_date": null,
  "benefits": [
    {
      "id": "service-id",
      "name": "Service Name",
      "category": "github_pack|dev_tools|cloud|design|productivity|learning|media|ai|devops",
      "requires_pack": true,
      "value": "$XXX or description",
      "status": "pending|done|skipped|expired",
      "done_date": null,
      "expiry_date": null,
      "renewal_info": "annual|one-time|during-enrollment",
      "url": "https://..."
    }
  ]
}

Step 4: Set Up Reminders

Based on the user's OS, create a reminder script using the cross-platform templates in scripts/.

Windows:

powershellCopy code
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File check_benefits.ps1

macOS / Linux:

bashCopy code
bash check_benefits.sh

The scripts will:

• Read student_benefits_tracker.json
• Show pending items grouped by priority
• Display a desktop notification (Windows toast / macOS osascript / Linux notify-send)
• Append to reminder.log

Important: All script output must be in English to avoid encoding issues on Windows PowerShell. Comments in the scripts should also be in English.

Step 5: Schedule Recurring Reminders

Windows (Task Scheduler): Create a .ps1 registration script - see scripts/register_tasks_windows.ps1

macOS (launchd): Create a .plist file in ~/Library/LaunchAgents/

Linux (cron): Add to crontab: 0 9 * * * /path/to/check_benefits.sh

Suggested schedule:

• Daily 09:00 - check pending benefits
• Weekly Monday 09:00 - remind to update tracker
• One-time on Pack approval date + 3 days - remind to redeem Pack benefits

Application Guides

GitHub Student Developer Pack (Do This First)

The Pack is the gateway to 12+ premium services. Application steps:

1. Go to https://education.github.com/pack
2. Click "Sign up for Student Developer Pack"
3. Select your .edu.tw email (must be added to your GitHub account first)
4. Upload proof: student ID card photo or enrollment certificate
5. Wait 3-7 business days for approval (sometimes instant)

Tips for Taiwan students:

• .edu.tw emails are well-recognized and usually approved quickly
• If rejected, try uploading a clearer student ID photo or a fresh enrollment certificate
• The Pack is valid during enrollment; renew annually

Independent Benefits (No Pack Needed)

These can be claimed immediately with just your .edu.tw email:

1. JetBrains - Apply at jetbrains.com/community/education with .edu.tw email
2. Azure - No credit card needed; sign up at azure.microsoft.com/free/students
3. Figma - Register with .edu.tw at figma.com/education
4. Notion - Sign up with .edu.tw, then upgrade under Settings > Plans
5. Cursor Pro - Apply at cursor.com/students (manual verification may be needed for Taiwan)

Renewal Calendar

Many benefits expire annually. The reminder system tracks expiry dates and warns 30 days before renewal is needed.

Tracker Status Values

• pending - Not yet applied
• done - Successfully claimed (set done_date)
• skipped - Intentionally skipped (not interested)
• expired - Was claimed but has expired (needs renewal)

Customization

Users can:

• Edit tracker.json to add/remove benefits based on their interests
• Change reminder frequency in the scheduled task settings
• Add custom benefits not in the catalog

File Structure

Copy code
student-benefits/
├── student_benefits_tracker.json   # Personal progress tracker
├── check_benefits.ps1              # Windows reminder script
├── check_benefits.sh               # macOS/Linux reminder script
├── reminder.log                    # Reminder output history
└── register_tasks_windows.ps1      # Windows Task Scheduler setup