▎GLOBAL OUTLOOK

As international higher education development enters the post-pandemic era, universities in Asia often face similar challenges and considerations due to their comparable campus cultures and student learning preferences. To further strengthen policy exchanges with universities in the region, Executive Vice President Shih-Torng Ding led a delegation in June, with representatives from the Office of Academic Affairs, Office of International Affairs, General Education Center, and the Future University Project Office, to visit six universities, including the University of Tokyo and Seoul National University. The delegation held in-depth discussions with administrative and academic counterparts on such topics as the internationalization of higher education, interdisciplinary learning, and industry-academia collaboration.

During the visit, the delegation found that Japanese and Korean universities had recently focused on fostering student mobility in the Asian region, encouraging students to address regional issues, and ultimately retaining talent in Asia. Regional universities are actively forming multilateral cooperation alliances, enabling students to engage in cross-campus, cross-country, and interdisciplinary exchanges through course collaborations and student exchanges. These opportunities also include overseas research programs for doctoral students. Concerning industry-academia collaboration, Japanese and Korean universities integrate industry knowledge and experience into learning, using real-world industry data and case studies in classroom content to help students understand real-world problems early on.

The NTU delegation, with representatives from teaching and administrative units, gained valuable insights from the universities they visited. Some of these insights will be discussed and adapted to NTU’s context, possibly providing a comprehensive guide for future policy planning. For instance, the Office of Academic Affairs will discuss the grading system and overall strategy for doctoral admissions. The Office of International Affairs plans to host workshops on English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) next year, inviting participants from other Asian universities. The General Education Center will refine its bachelor’s degree system and general education course classifications in view of practices observed at Seoul National University and Yonsei University. The practical insights from this visit are expected to gradually spur developments at NTU, and fostering increased reciprocal and win-win exchanges and cooperation with Japanese and Korean universities in the future.