TAINAN, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--An exhibition held Dec. 3-4 at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) showed the results of the Phase I Aim for the Top University Program sponsored by the Ministry of Education of Taiwan, highlighting the splendid outcomes for 11 universities that have received funding from the Program.
Hosting the event, President Hwung-Hweng Hwung of NCKU hailed the success of the Program and called attention to developing industry-academia collaboration which will better connect universities and the industry.
“The Program has helped uplift the international profile of Taiwan’s higher education,” said Minister of Education Ching-ji Wu. During his recent visit to southeastern Asia, he said, Vietnam, Thailand, India, and Indonesia expressed their high regards for Taiwan’s achievements and decided to send their faculty and students to Taiwan for professional training and education.
The Phase I Aim for the Top University Program has ushered National Taiwan University into the top 100 universities in the world for three consecutive years. It has also engaged Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago, University of California, Berkeley, and Imperial College London in Taiwan’s Top University Strategic Alliance. Currently in Taiwan, there are almost 45,000 students from overseas.
With the Program funding, the patent growth rate of participating universities has exceeded 112% and that of the derivation has increased more than 139% over the past five years. The number of underprivileged students admitted through the Program has increased 117% compared with five years ago.
As Chair of the Top University Strategic Alliance, President Si-Chen Lee of National Taiwan University pointed out that the investment in teaching, research, infrastructure, and internationalization has not only helped the funded universities to cultivate caliber talents but has also reinforced Taiwan’s confidence and pride.
Phase I of the Aim for the Top University Program ran from 2006 to 2010 with an aim to heighten international competiveness of Taiwan’s higher education institutions through an investment of NT$50 billion over 5 years in 12 universities.