President Huan-Chao Keh and Vice President for International Affairs Hsiao-Chuan Chen visited Southwest University (SWU) in Chongqing on October 24. They were received by SWU President Zhang Weiguo, Director of the Party and Government Office Yongjun Jin, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan Affairs Office Yuanhong Dai, and others. In addition to visiting the campus and teaching facilities, they introduced the characteristics and overall development of the university, as well as the culture and landscape of Chongqing to President Keh and his delegation. The 2 presidents also signed academic exchange and student exchange agreements, officially establishing SWU as the 268th sister university of our university. In the upcoming semester, 2 students from the SWU will be selected to participate in the exchange program to our university's Department of Communication.

President Zhang first introduced that SWU, founded in 1906, originally known as Chengdu Normal School, offered university courses and teacher education. Currently, it has a total of 55,000 students and 6,000 faculty and staff members. Out of 3,200 teachers, 75% hold doctoral degrees, and more than 50% have studied abroad, leading to outstanding academic credentials. The university offers 54 primary disciplines, covering a wide range from the humanities, history, geography, natural sciences to engineering. In recent years, they have signed cooperation agreements with over 200 universities and research institutions from over 40 countries and regions, including projects related to credit recognition and student exchange. SWU has a high level of internationalization with over 2,000 international students, the majority of whom come from countries in Southeast Asia, Western Asia, Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe. President Zhang then highlighted the cultural and language similarities between mainland China and Taiwan's educational institutions. Despite the impact of the pandemic on exchanges, he expressed the hope of strengthening cooperation and achieving tangible results.

President Keh praised SWU for its educational achievements, which could serve as a model for Tamkang. He expressed admiration for their talent development, overall development, and integration processes. He also explained that since our university signed an academic exchange agreement with Xiamen University in 1991, Tamkang had up to 600 mainland Chinese degree-seeking students at its peak, and the number of international students reached a maximum of 2,000. In terms of international exchanges, Tamkang University has 267 sister universities in 45 countries across all five continents, including many top-tier institutions. Besides student exchanges, we have developed collaborative dual-degree programs with 28 schools in 9 countries, including Australia's Queensland University and Queensland University of Technology. President Keh expressed his hope for more academic exchanges and collaboration opportunities between our two universities in the future. He also extended an invitation for President Zhang to visit our university after opening up these exchanges.

After concluding their visit to SWU on October 26, President Keh and his delegation traveled to Hong Kong. They met with Meilan Li, Chief of the Admission Strategy Center, and Professor Chia-Chi Sun from the Department of International Business. Together, they participated in a banquet hosted by the Hong Kong Alumni Association to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of the university and the 48th anniversary of the alumni association's establishment. President Keh expressed his special gratitude to the Hong Kong alumni for their longstanding support of the alma mater in student recruitment. On October 27, they attended the opening ceremony of the 2023 "Taiwan Higher Education Exhibition." In his speech, President Keh encouraged Hong Kong students to pursue their education in Taiwan. He also addressed the serious issue of declining birth rates in the Greater China region and expressed hope that, together with various Taiwanese universities, they could achieve success in future student recruitment efforts.

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

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