Relations between NTU and Kyoto University reached an unprecedented high on the occasion of the 2nd Kyoto University and National Taiwan University Symposium, which took place at Kyoto University on September 1-2. As head of NTU's largest delegation ever, NTU President Pan-Chyr Yang led the deans of seven NTU colleges as well as more than 120 faculty members from eleven colleges to take part in the historic two-day event, which drew the direct participation of hundreds of KU faculty members and administrators. NTU hosted the first KU-NTU Symposium in 2013.

During the opening ceremony, President Yang and KU President Hiroshi Matsumoto both expressed their hopes and aspirations for the symposium. NTU's Dean for International Affairs Shu-Ying Chang and KU's Executive Vice-President for International Affairs and Hospital Administration Michiaki Mishima also presented introductions to the histories and recent developments of their institutions.

Moreover, the two presidents took advantage of the ceremony to sign two important agreements regarding faculty exchanges and dual degree programs between NTU and KU.

The joint symposium was organized around a series of lectures and workshops as well as parallel sessions addressing the 14 themes of Advanced Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Agriculture, Biology, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Humanities, Law, Management, Medicine, Museums, Nanoscience and Technology, Natural Hazards and Global Change, Public Health, Research and Development, and Social Sciences.

In addition to a full schedule of academic meetings, the symposium also provided important opportunities for the two universities to discuss administrative issues in the areas of student affairs, research and development, and international affairs. NTU Dean for Student Affairs Tsung-Fu Chen and KU Assistant to the Executive Vice President Takeshi Katsumi met to share their experiences in the implementation of policies related to student ethics, suicide prevention, and business internships.

NTU's Dean for Research and Development Fang-Jen Lee, Deputy Dean for Research and Development Andrew Wo, and Deputy Director of the Center of Industrial-Academic Cooperation also held a meeting with their KU counterparts to discuss practical issues regarding technology transfers, innovation, and the management of intellectual property rights. The R&D officials also visited some of the laboratories and research centers of KU's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences.

Meanwhile, NTU Vice President for Academic Affairs Liang-Gee Chen learned about KU's internationalization strategy, including the important Hakubi Project, which is a plan to develop and support the KU's next generation of scientific researchers. And, in preparation for the upcoming faculty exchanges, NTU's Office of International Affairs officials hammered out some practical details with their KU counterparts. They also visited the Yoshida International House, where international scholars live while working at KU.

NTU and KU, which boasts the highest number of research centers of any Japanese university, both enjoy strong academic reputations and support free and open academic environments. The two institutions share a vital partnership and engage in regular exchanges. These exchanges began in 2006 with the initiation of a distance learning project in the field of biology as well as student exchanges involving students of NTU's Colleges of Bioresources and Agriculture, Life Science, and Medicine.