In January the pioneers of the “E-Learning Executive Master's Program of Asian Studies” held their first graduation ceremony.This elite professional digital graduate program had fifteen students from Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Paraguay. The students officially enrolled at the start of the program in February, 2012 and have graduated after two years of study. During the two years of study the students have come to Taiwan at least three times and taken over 24 credits. This semester marks the end of Taiwan’s first long-distance studies program, which is why on January 17th Tamkang University held this unprecedented graduation celebration.

President Flora Chia-I Chang stated, “It’s a great change to hold this graduation ceremony during the winter semester for the long-distance studies program. It is no easy task to finish all of the curriculum requirements in only two years! I want to thank the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all of the members of Tamkang University that have played a role in the creation of an international, modern and informationalized education system. For fifty years the Department of Spanish Language has produced invaluable alumni and today we add 13 more new members.” President Chang emphasized that these new alumni will be great ambassadors in the future for Tamkang University as they spread word of our university through their success and achievements.

Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Latin America, Mr. Jorge Alvaro Pozzi Ciaran, stated, “Taiwan may be a great distance from Latin America, but this long-distance learning program will certainly make us closer.” He then suggested that the 13 graduates share the news in their region in order to promote more cooperation in the future. The Ambassador from Nicaragua, William M. Tapia, mentioned that the new online generation allows for more possibilities of education that were never available before. Now we can even develop scholarships for people in our country that are interested in this long-distance (e-learning) educational program. Guatemalan Ambassador, Arturo Duarte Ortiz, stated, “This new program will create a very deep relationship between the countries in Latin America and Taiwan. The importance of this new educational system can’t be expressed in words.” Ambassador from Paraguay, Marcial Bobadilla Guillén, Stated, “The success of today’s graduates is the beginning of the development for a new foundation in our country.”

SDGs

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