Since 2013, NPUST has been operating the Taiwan Education Center in Thailand on behalf of the Ministry of Education. The center not only works to lay foundations for Chinese language education in Thailand, but also serves as a bridge for higher education enrollment and academic exchanges between the two countries. On March 14th to 17th, Vincent Shih, dean of the NPUST Office of International Affairs, travelled to Thailand at the request of university president, Chin-Lung Chang, to visit the center and meet with its director, Ms. Nan-Xiang Gao. Together, they received Dr. Nicole Yen-Yi Lee, Director General of the Department of International and Cross-strait Education at the Ministry of Education (Taiwan), and discussed operations with her.
Over the years, NPUST has seen remarkable results at the center and the contributions of its personnel were strongly affirmed by the director general. Now, as travel re-opens, bilateral exchange between Taiwan and Thailand is becoming more and more active. In response, and with the approval Director General Lee, Phuket Rajabhat University (a sister-school of NPUST), has agreed to set up a new Thailand Taiwan Education Center office to serve the southern area. An opening ceremony is expected to be held on August 28th of this year.
Following the establishment of the first office in Thailand a decade ago, NPUST began working to opened up and diversify the development of Taiwan and Thailand’s education networks. Through their activities, they were able to strengthen bilateral relations in higher education and promote cooperation on talent cultivation and academic exchange. At present, three offices are established in Thailand, individually stationed at Kasetsart University, Maejo University, and Rajamangala University of Technology Isan. With approval from the Ministry of Education, the office at Phuket Rajabhat University will become the fourth when it opens this coming August (2023). NPUST plans to continue to promote education in Thailand and Taiwan, and as they do, they will also continue to make contributions to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals which encourage quality education (SDG4) and global partnerships (SDG17).
