Adding to dual PhD degree programs, two new agreements pave the way for greater academic exchanges and research

In March, NTU and France's AgroParisTech strengthened their academic partnership by signing two new agreements, one that facilitates scholarly exchanges and collaboration and another that promotes student exchange programs. Since establishing partner relations in 2009, the two institutions, working under the framework of the Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Studies and Degrees for Pursuing Higher Education at French and Taiwanese Institutions, have cooperated on dual PhD degree programs. The new agreements pave the way for greater academic exchanges and research cooperation between the two institutions.
AgroParisTech, which is formally called the Paris Institute of Technology for Life, Food, and Environmental Sciences, is a member of the Paris Institute of Technology, or Paris Tech, which is a group of ten elite French science and engineering graduate institutes. In recent years, the French government has introduced policies for education and research resources that cluster the country's leading institutions of higher education in various fields into elite consortiums such as Paris Tech. AgroParisTech is recognized as one of France's finest academic institutions in agriculture, forestry, life science, and environmental science.

AgroParisTech was formed in 2007 through the merger of three existing institutions: the Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon, which is considered France's premier institution in agriculture, and the National School of Rural Engineering, Water Resources, and Forestry and École Nationale Supérieure des Industries Agricoles et Alimentaires, both of which play prominent roles in water, forest, and environmental management. AgroParisTech operates across nine campuses, has an enrollment of 2,000 students and 450 PhD students and employs nearly 1,200 instructors and research personnel. International students make up 20% of the institution's student body.

AgroParisTech is divided into five departments that boast advanced, comprehensive curricula/facilities. The institute's Master of Science degrees cover 25 programs across the life science, environmental science, and technology, which are its most popular degrees. Students also enjoy opportunities to take courses and engage in business internships at AgroParisTech's partner universities. Moreover, the institute offers the Erasmus Mundus Master Programmes and ParisTech Professional Masters Programs.

Internationally, AgroParisTech is a member along with four other leading European universities of the IDEA League, and it enjoys partnerships with more than 100 universities around the globe. It also participates in Europe's Erasmus and Erasmus Mundus programs as well as bilateral cooperation programs between Europe and the United States.