On April 1st, the Dean of International Affairs, Dr. Chien-Mu Yeh, and the Dean of Academic Affairs, Dr. Tzong-Ru Tsai, led their teams and students to Malaysia. In addition to participating in the "2023 Taiwan Higher Education Expo" organized by the Federation of Alumni Associations of Taiwan Universities, Malaysia to introduce relevant information about the university to Chinese students in Malaysia, Dr. Chien-Mu Yeh and Dr. Tzong-Ru Tsai also visited 15 Chinese independent schools in Malaysia, including Payfong Middle School, Jit Sin Independent High School, and Muar Chung Hwa High School, with the strong assistance of local alumni. They had face-to-face exchanges with school presidents, vice presidents, and teachers to discuss topics such as school environment, students' learning conditions, and aspirations for further studies. This visit fully embodied the good tradition of alumni being closely connected with their alma mater.

This education expo is the first large-scale education expo held in Malaysia in the post-pandemic period, taking place in 5 cities in East Malaysia and West Malaysia. It has attracted nearly 17,000 visitors. Ms. Mei-Lan Lee, the Director of Center for Admission Strategies, and Ms. Cadence Wang, an administrative staff from the International Student Guidance Section, were responsible for the planning on behalf of our university. With the assistance of Assistant Professor Tsung-Yuan Chen from the Department of History and alumni from the Alumni Association of Tamkang University in Malaysia, they introduced the university and its departments to students and teachers who visited the expo, and answered relevant questions. The response from students was enthusiastic. Ms. Lee mentioned that local students showed strong interest in studying at our university, with many inquiries about various colleges. Among them, the College of Business and Management received the most attention. "We hope that through the education expo, we can increase students’ understanding of our university and enhance their willingness to study at Tamkang University," Ms. Lee said.

Dr. Chien-Mu Yeh expressed that the purpose of visiting the middle schools is not only to enhance friendship, but also to understand each other's needs and the resources and assistance that our school can provide through face-to-face communication. "We appreciate the warm reception from the visited schools to our team. They are happy to see our school visiting for exchange, especially the schools that our school's recruitment team has visited during the winter break, which has given our school affirmation and encouragement. We hope to continue visiting and promoting our school locally, providing relevant information about our school. In addition, we will reorganize the list of the source schools of our current Malaysian students, considering factors such as school size, number of students, and demand for Tamkang University, and revise the relevant admission methods." He pointed out that a certain proportion of Malaysian students have the willingness to study abroad, and our school adopts a strategy of "resource sharing, alliance for mutual benefit", sharing our educational and administrative resources to assist partner schools in enhancing their functions, helping each other, and building a high-quality image, strengthening our presence, and effectively arousing the interest and attention of teachers, students, and parents.

During this trip, Dr. Tzong-Ru Tsai discovered that local Chinese independent middle schools lack learning resources. Many presidents of independent middle schools expressed their hopes for deeper cooperation with their schools in the future, including joint learning activities to benefit local students. Dr. Tsai suggested considering sharing EMI resources and developing MOOCs with 6+2 English-taught courses, such as "Cabin Management" and "Asia-Pacific Regional Studies" offered by the College of International Affairs, and opening up possibilities for Malaysian middle school students to take these courses. If further expanded to high schools in countries in the New Southbound Policy, it could be greatly beneficial in attracting overseas students from Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and other countries.

SDGs #SDG04 Quality Education #SDG11 Sustainable Cities and Communities #SDG17 Partnerships for the Goals

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