From left:
Director Jiang, Representative and Head of Mission Chang, Prof Chuah, Prof
Goi, Dr Tan, and SW Ong
Representative and Head of
Mission James Chang Chi-Ping and Director William C. Jiang from the Taipei
Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Malaysia paid a courtesy visit to
UTAR Sungai Long Campus on 30 December 2015. The visit was set to foster
mutual ties and to explore more possibilities for collaborations with
Taiwan.
The delegates were
welcomed by UTAR President Ir Prof Academician Dato' Dr Chuah Hean Teik,
accompanied by Division of Community and International Networking
(DCInterNet) Director Dr Tan Sin Leng, Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering
and Science Dean Prof Ir Dr Goi Bok Min, Division of Corporate Communication
and Public Relations Director Ong Soo Weon, and DCInterNet Senior Assistant
Manager Ong Yoon Furn.
The meeting commenced with
Prof Chuah’s warm welcoming address which expressed his gratitude to the
TECO delegates for their visit to UTAR Sungai Long Campus. Citing the
history of the university, Prof Chuah emphasised that the establishment of
UTAR is a collective effort of multiple parties through funding and other
forms of support from society. He also extended his invitation to
Representative Chang to visit the majestic UTAR Kampar Campus.
Prof Chuah also stressed
that UTAR’s partnership with Taiwan has brought about many successful joint
collaborations with various Taiwanese universities over the years. “The
close ties between the two parties have grown stronger through a variety of
collaborations on R&D, dual degree programmes, student and staff exchanges,
study tours, and new village projects. As of 2015, UTAR has signed 36
Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Taiwanese universities and
institutions.”
In addition, Prof Chuah
highlighted that the collaborations with Taiwan reached a new milestone with
the setup of the UTAR Taiwan Resource Centre for Chinese Studies and the
Taiwan Education Centre located in UTAR. He continued, “UTAR was one of the
14 Malaysian higher institutions at the Malaysia-Taiwan Higher Education
Forum held in Feng Chia University in 2014. As a result of the fruitful
meeting, UTAR will host the next forum in its Kampar Campus in October 2016.
I believe this will bring the partnerships with Taiwan to greater heights.”
Impressed by the robust
growth of UTAR in mere 13 years, Representative Chang enthused, “I admire
the university’s endeavour in striving for educational excellence though
meaningful international interactions. I have also learnt that the medium of
instruction in UTAR is English, which Taiwan yearns to implement to further
globalise its education system.”
“The main role of TECO in
Malaysia is to strengthen mutual understanding and enhance the relationship
of both parties in all aspects including education, culture, and economy. We
are the bridge that facilitates the association of the local institutions,
people, and organisations with Taiwan,” said Representative Chang.
Representative Chang also
shared some current developments in Taiwan’s education system and said,
“Malaysian students contribute approximately 50% of the international
student population in Taiwan. This figure shows that Malaysia is a major
source of international exchanges in education.” He added, “We hope to
continue receiving multi-faceted inputs from Malaysia as well as UTAR in the
future as a key to building stronger ties between Malaysia and Taiwan.”
In addition,
Representative Chang expressed his intention to cooperate with UTAR to
promote culture and arts. He proposed, “Following the success of the
existing collaborations in engineering and science, joint efforts on
cultural studies and arts could be an interesting and meaningful area to
explore further. Malaysia and Taiwan could assist each other to facilitate
more successful educational ventures as the way to move forward.”
The meeting ended on a
positive note with both parties agreeing to further joint collaborations.
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