TAINAN, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As students, alumni and guests from all over the world gathered to celebrate its 80th anniversary, National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Tainan, southern Taiwan, also marked its years of accomplishment in international outreach.
The university held the first National Cheng Kung University and Central and South America and the Caribbean Ambassadors Summit Forum, part of the celebration activities, on Nov. 11 in the Main Library’s conference room.
The forum was attended by Mr. Alejandro Young Portillo from the Embassy of the Republic of Honduras, Minister Carlos Fleitas from the Embassy of the Republic of Paraguay, Military Attache Colonel Oscar Cossio Cámara from the Embassy of the Republic of Guatemala, Defense Attache Captain Amado Duran from the Embassy of the Republic of El Salvador.
According to Huey-Jen Su, executive vice president of National Cheng Kung University, more international students from Central and South American were enrolled at NCKU than at any other university in Taiwan in the academic year of 2010.
The university also ranks high in the overall foreign student number in 2011, which stands at 1,266, including 627 overseas Chinese students.
“We hope the forum can facilitate dialogue between ambassadors and the university and so enlarge the scope of collaboration between Taiwan and the region,” said Cheng-Hung Huang, vice president of international affairs at NCKU.
An example of the university’s role in global community is the participation of NCKU’s Department of Architecture in the conservation of the World Heritage Site of Antigua in Guatemala.
The project started with the visit of Taiwan's Vice President Annette Lu to the ancient city of Antigua in 2004. Concerned with the lack of conservation funds for the site, she came up with the innovative idea of using cultural aid to strengthen diplomatic relations,” Min-Fu Hsu, professor of architecture, pointed out.
The government later designated the conservation and reuse of Convent Las Capuchinas and the renovation of Convent Sor Juana de Maldonado as a museum as the two missions of the project.
“The NCKU team members would also provide helpful guides such as how to avoid irreversible renovation design through friendly suggestions,” Ping-Sheng Wu, another professor of architecture at the university, added.
Jaime Wu, director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Central and South American Affairs Department, welcomed the delegates at the forum and met with seven Latin American students in a special meeting.
“It is an excellent opportunity for me to meet the Latin American students face to face here. I’m particularly impressed with their Chinese proficiency and studiousness,” Wu said.
In response to students’ concern of applying for MOFA and ICDF scholarships, Wu promised he will see to it that related regulations are updated to attract more Latin American students to study in Taiwan.