UNAIR NEWS – The Taiwan-Indonesia Higher Education Virtual Forum 2021 entered its second day on November 26, 2021. The event continued with signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between 58 universities from Taiwan and 54 universities in Indonesia. One of them was Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR).
Representing the Rector of UNAIR, Prof. Dr. Ni Nyoman Tri Puspaningsih, M.Si, as the Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation, and Community Development was present virtually. She and 12 other universities symbolically signed the MoU on cooperation between universities in the two countries.
“Our cooperation with universities in Taiwan is going very well so far. Almost every year, there are lecturers and students (from UNAIR, ed) who continue their studies at several well-known universities in Taiwan. And vice versa,” she said.
Prof. Nyoman said that the cooperation between UNAIR and Taiwan has been established for quite a long time since UNAIR and Asia University inaugurated the Taiwan Education Center (TEC) in 2017.
TEC was established at UNAIR to bridge academic cooperation between Indonesian and Taiwanese universities. The unit also functions as a Taiwanese education information center, including scholarships, for the general public.
Besides UNAIR, a number of universities also signed the MoU. Among them were Universitas Brawijaya, Universitas Jember, Maulana Malik Ibrahim UIN Malang, Universitas Diponegoro, and Universitas Sam Ratulangi, and dozens of other universities.
Upon the signing of the memorandum of understanding, cooperation between Taiwan and Indonesia is expected to expand. “We hope that the cooperation will be even greater, not only in terms of student exchange, but also joint research, joint publications, exchange of lecturers and researchers, and the possibility of double degrees and joint degrees,” said Prof. Nyoman.
At the end of the event, Dr. Nicole Yen-Yi Lee, as Director General of the Department of International and Cross-Strait Education of the Ministry of Education of Taiwan, gave a short speech. She emphasized that her party is committed to improving the quality of higher education for the sake of science, society, industry, and challenges in the future.
One of the commitments is realized through the New Southbound Policy scheme intended for Indonesian students. She also hoped that cooperation between Taiwanese and Indonesian universities would grow and continue.
After the signing of the MoU, the event continued with a group photo session. Furthermore, Indonesia is lined up as the host of the Taiwan-Indonesia Higher Education Virtual Forum in 2022. (*)
Author: Erika Eight Novanty
Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia
