On November 30th, 2018, the delegation of four Taiwanese national universities including the National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU), the National Cheung Kung University (NCKU), the National Chiayi University (NCYU), and the National Chung Hsing University (NCHU), led by Mr. Ching-Fong Chang, president of the NTOU, paid a working visit to Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA). Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan, VNUA’s president, chaired the meeting with the participation of representatives of the International Cooperation Office, the Faculty of Food Science and Technology, the Faculty of Agronomy, the Faculty of Economics and Rural Development, the Faculty of Accounting and Business Management, the Faculty of Fisheries, and the Faculty of Biotechnology.
At the meeting, Prof. Dr. Lan expressed her honor to welcome and work with the four leading national universities in Taiwan. With the goal of investment in human resource development, VNUA’s president wished to promote student exchange activities among universities, especially focusing on organizing thematic seminars for students to share knowledge and experience as well as create a cultural exchange environment among Vietnamese and Taiwanese young generations. Mr. Ching-Fong Chang emphasized that the purpose of the visit is to further strengthen the cooperation in training and research between VNUA and NTOU. It is also an opportunity for NCKU, NCYU and NCHU to explore and establish cooperative relations with VNUA in the future.
The meeting between VNUA and Taiwanese national universities
President Nguyen Thi Lan with delegates
Together, the parties discussed the training programs, especially short-term exchange programs and English training programs,. The two parties both wished to promote the cooperation in short-term student exchange, exchange of credits for 1 or 2 semesters, internship program, master’s and doctoral training programs, organizing scientific seminars for students, implementing research in the fields of agriculture such as seafood, food technology, mechanics, education, and information technology. Given the success of recent student exchange activities between VNUA and NTOU, the two universities looked forward to building a student camp program for their students to not only train professional knowledge but also help them learn about the culture, the country and the people of Vietnam and Taiwan. Regarding cooperation in research and development, Prof. Nguyen Thi Lan desired to receive supports from the four universities in the analysis, diagnosis, and prevention of diseases on fisheries and proposed a collaboration in applying biotechnology in researching and developing vaccines that contribute to the fisheries industry in Vietnam.
Also on this occasion, the "School Talks" was organized to raise the awareness of VNUA’s students about the academic environment in Taiwan. The representatives of each university gave presentations about the history, training programs, academic environment as well as the information about their scholarships and student exchange programs. Nearly 50 VNUA’s students from different faculties took part in the Talks.
Established in 1953, the NTOU has become one of Taiwan's leading universities for training and providing special scholarships in the field of marine and aquatic sciences. In 2018, the NTOU is among the top 400 universities in the world in the field of life science by Times Higher Education World University Rankings and is among the top 20 excellent universities in Taiwan ranked by Cheers magazine in 2015-2017. The NTOU has organized varios student exchange programs including international summer and winter camps that take place over a 10-day period, attracting many international students from different countries around the world. The NCKU, NCYU and NCHU are also the leading and long-standing public universities in Taiwan. In 2018, the NCKU is ranked 222nd globally, 35th in Asia and 4th in Taiwan. These universities offer undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programs in the fields of agriculture, humanities, life sciences, management, mechanics, veterinary medicine, social sciences, and education.
This working session with the NTOU is an opportunity to promote and actualize cooperation activities in training and research signed in the MOU since 2015, as well as the premise to establish a cooperative relationship and sign MOU between VNUA and the NCKU, the NCYU and the NCHU to gain new achievements in training and research in the agricultural sector.
Participants at the School Talks
Delegates of Taiwanese national universities, International Cooperation Office representative leader and VNUA students