A high-level delegation composed of six NTU administrators traveled to the Persian Gulf in early April to foster international cooperation with universities and research institutes in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.  In addition to furthering relations with existing partner Kuwait University, the delegation also met with potential new partners to discuss opportunities for academic and research cooperation.

The delegation included Executive Vice President for Academics and Research Liang-Gee Chen, Vice President for International Affairs Luisa Shu-Ying Chang, Dean of the College of Engineering Jia-Yush Yen, Dean of the College of Public Health Wei J. Chen, Associate Dean of the College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Hsin-Hsi Chen, and Office of International Affairs Director for Global Alliances Linda Chang.

NTU and KU have enjoyed frequent exchanges since establishing their partnership in 2011.  While at KU, the delegation held talks with President Hussain Al-Ansari and Assistant Vice President for Academic Development Ahmet S.Yigit.  Besides planning further student and faculty exchanges, the two parties decided to jointly develop directions for research plans, focusing on such vital areas as water resources, energy, public health, and medicine.  Since Taiwanese students lack direct interaction with Islamic culture and higher education, the two sides hope that any political drawbacks that might persist can be transcended with academic exchanges focused on education and technology.

The delegation also visited the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, which is the Kuwait equivalent of Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute, and who has already cooperated on nearly 20 research projects with Taiwanese partners.  The NTU administrators visited the institute’s renowned Water Research Center and met with KISR officials to discuss potential models for cooperation.

At the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, which supervises an endowment that funds international projects with Kuwaiti partners, officials informed the delegation of funding opportunities for well-designed research projects that include Kuwaiti personnel.  The delegation also stopped by Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait’s most elite private university, where it enjoyed a tour of the campus led by the university’s Vice President for Academic Affairs Salah Al-Sharhan.

Then in Saudi Arabia, the NTU administrators went to King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.  While there, they were deeply impressed by the priority that each of the university’s professors placed on providing the finest education to his or her students.