Each year, the Ministry of Education holds higher education exhibitions or forums abroad to promote the competitiveness of Taiwan’s top academic institutions and attract more students from overseas. This year, on August 24th, representatives from 27 of Taiwan’s universities made their way to Bangkok, Thailand to present themselves before thousands of potential students and strategic partners.

Academic-Industry cooperation is a common theme discussed at events like these, and in Thailand, Taiwan’s National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) already enjoys a solid reputation for its contributions it has made in this area. For many years, NPUST has been doing groundwork in Thailand to cultivate academic relationships with local universities and develop partnerships with businesses needing assistance with personnel training and technology upgrades.

At this year’s exhibition, NPUST delivered a special presentation to exhibit some of the achievements it has enjoyed as a result of its partnerships in Thailand. A variety of fields were covered; from sustainable agriculture and Green energy to biomedical health care and every-day Smart technology. The results attracted a lot of attention from Taiwan business operating in Thailand, local industry operators and educational institutions

Presentations also highlighted the special features of the university to students who were at the exhibition to plan out their future academic careers. Many high-school students getting ready to enter college were there with parents to see what the Taiwanese schools had to offer. Some of those surveyed had already applied to study at NPUST, but just wanted to take the opportunity to get additional information about the university so that they would be better equipped to get the most out of their academic enterprises at NPUST once they arrive in Taiwan.

A number of NPUST’s high-level personnel were present for the event, including VP for Academic Affairs Chung-Ruey Yen, VP for Education Affairs Pao-Chuan Hsie, Office of International Affairs Dean Pomin Li, R&D Director Yo-Chia Chen, College of Agriculture Dean Fure-Chyi Chen, Director Guan-Ming Ke of the Graduate Institute of Animal Vaccine Technology and others.

Vice-President for Education Affairs, Dr. Pao-Chuan Hsie, said that “the purpose of hosting the activity is to allow Taiwan and Thailand to enjoy greater exchange and help Thai students get a better understanding of NPUST – providing interested students with an avenue to get to know the university. At the same time, we are able to promote our research and technology to local industries and to Taiwanese businesses operating in Thailand, bolstering the technological and academic cooperation between both sides and allowing for interaction between educators from both countries while also adding depth to the friendly relationships that they share.”

Following the exhibition, representatives from academic, government and business sectors relocated to the Chinese Association in Thailand to discuss cooperation. During the meeting, many of the Taiwanese businesses expressed their satisfaction with the work that NPUST was doing to promote education and facilitate cooperation in the region and looked forward to new projects and opportunities for growth in the future.