TMU President Chien-Huang Lin Joins MOE Delegation to the U.S. Federal Government, Promoting Taiwan-U.S. Higher Education Academic Alliances
[Washington, D.C.] — The Ministry of Education organized a delegation to visit the U.S. federal government on May 25 and 26, 2023 (May 24 and 25, U.S. time). In addition to promoting Taiwan's high-quality higher education and Mandarin language instruction, the trip aimed to deepen various educational collaborations and exchanges, paving the way for new partnership opportunities.
Led by MOE Political Deputy Minister Mon-Chi Lio (劉孟奇), the delegation included Director General Yen-Yi Lee (李彥儀) of the Department of International and Cross-strait Education, along with representatives from 9 leading universities: President Chi-Hung Lin (林奇宏) of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, President W. John Kao (高為元) of National Tsing Hua University, Vice President Chih-Wen Kuo (郭志文) of National Sun Yat-sen University, President Tsai-Yen Li (李蔡彥) of National Chengchi University, President Fuh-Sheng Shieu (薛富盛) of National Chung Hsing University, Vice President Jhy-Chern Liu (劉志成) of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Vice President Yung-Hsiang Ying (印永翔) of National Taiwan Normal University, President Chien-Huang Lin (林建煌) and Vice President Chieh-Hsin Wu (吳介信) of Taipei Medical University, and Vice President Hsiao-Chueh Chen (陳小雀) of Tamkang University. Representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Acting CEO Yun-Hua Yang (楊韻華) of the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan (FICHET) also joined the visit to key government agencies in Washington, D.C..
Through these high-level discussions, the MOE affirmed its support for Taiwanese universities to form academic alliances and collaborate with U.S. university systems. Leveraging Taiwan's industrial strengths, the initial focus will be on semiconductor collaboration, with plans to gradually expand into other fields. Moving forward, the MOE will continue to drive Taiwan-U.S. university exchanges in Mandarin education. The introduction and exchange of exceptional educators will effectively assist Taiwan in advancing bilingual education, while simultaneously enhancing Taiwanese teachers' global perspectives, bilingual teaching proficiencies, and professional development.
Within this delegation, Taipei Medical University and Case Western Reserve University are jointly cultivating a transnational medical research seed team. National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University is executing a pilot project, while National Tsing Hua University, National Sun Yat-sen University, National Chengchi University, National Chung Hsing University, National Taiwan Normal University, and Tamkang University are actively implementing the Taiwan Huayu BEST Program (優華語計畫).
Upon arriving in Washington, D.C., the delegation visited the State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs' Office of Economic Policy Analysis and Public Diplomacy, the U.S. Department of Education, and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Washington Headquarters. Both sides exchanged views on multiple cooperative projects and agreed to leverage government resources and university capacities to expand Taiwan-U.S. educational cooperation. This effort builds upon the successful foundation of past language education partnerships to explore further possibilities.
During this trip, the MOE delegation received high-level receptions from their U.S. counterparts. In the meeting with the U.S. Department of Education, Maureen McLaughlin, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Education and Director of International Affairs, personally engaged with the delegation and expressed her full commitment to facilitating educational cooperation between Taiwan and the U.S. The delegation also held in-depth discussions with Deputy Assistant Secretary Ethan Rosenzweig of the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Director Brian Gibel of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and AIT Chair Laura Rosenberger.
Through multiple sessions over two days, the two sides engaged in profound dialogues on various collaborative concepts, including Taiwan-U.S. talent exchange, research cooperation, K-12 international exchanges, English teaching, and Mandarin education partnerships, successfully reaching several consensuses. Building on this solid foundation, the MOE will unite with MOFA's overseas missions, domestic universities, local governments, and K-12 schools to actively launch various Taiwan-U.S. educational exchange programs. This highly fruitful trip has outlined a concrete action plan for the future development of the Taiwan-U.S. Education Initiative.
Source: Secretariat
