The European Union Center in Taiwan’s Cross-Consortium University Presidents’ Meeting and Steering Committee Meeting took place at the College of Social Sciences on April 29.  As NTU is the lead institution of the EUCT’s seven-member alliance, NTU President Pan-Chyr Yang presided over the meeting, which was attended by the presidents of National Chengchi University and Tamkang University, as well as presidential representatives from National Sun Yat-Sen University, National Chung Hsing University, Fu Jen Catholic University, and National Dong Hua University.  During the meeting, the seven universities signed the 2016-2018 Consortium Agreement so that the EUCT can continue to play an active role in Taiwan-EU research.

The EUCT was established in September of 2008 when the presidents of the current consortium’s seven universities signed a letter of intent agreeing to form an alliance with NTU as the designated lead university in order to invite the EU to establish an EU Center in Taiwan.  Since then, the consortium has successfully obtained funding from the EU for the operation of the EUCT for two stages totaling seven years.  While the second stage ended at the end of 2015, the center and the consortium successfully acquired additional funding through the EU’s Jean Monnet Programme in September 2015.

In signing the 2016-2018 Consortium Agreement, the seven universities agreed to maintain independent finances while still cooperating for mutual benefit under the EUCT’s framework so that they can continue to promote and expand exchange, education, and research projects with the European Union in Taiwan.
During the Steering Committee Meeting, the Head of the European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan, Madeleine Majorenko, commended the alliance for raising the visibility of the EU in Taiwan as well as for the important role it has played in deepening the nation’s EU research.  Ms. Majorenko added that she was greatly impressed by the diverse and probing projects the center and consortium members have lined up for the next three years.  Therefore, she proposed deepening and expanding cooperation between the EETO and consortium members so as to bring about increased exchanges between Taiwan and the EU.

EUCT Director Hongdah Su, who holds the Jean Monnet Chair Professorship of the NTU Department of Political Science, says Taiwan’s EUCT alliance remains the largest and most successful university consortium among the worldwide network of EU Centers.  He further attributes the EUCT’s accomplishments to the alliance’s selfless collaboration.