International Cooperation

On Ｍarch 29th, Andrew Petter, President and Vice-Chancellor; Tim Rahilly, Vice-Provost & Associate Vice-President, Students & International; Darren Schemmer, Executive Director, SFU International; and Yusuf Varachia, Director, International Strategic Initiatives, SFU International from Simon Fraser University, Canada, visited NTNU. President Cheng-Chih Wu; Vice President for International Affairs, Office of International Affairs, Kuang-Chao Yu; Secretary from the Office of International Affairs, Ms. Janice Chen; Student Mobility Manager from the Office of International Affairs, Mr. Daniel Lin, and Global Partnership Manager from the Office of International Affairs, Ms. Jia-Yu Liu welcomed them in person.

Simon Fraser University (SFU) and NTNU has become partner school since 1997. Established in 1963, SFU is one of the best universities in Canada, and it has been selected as one of the most comprehensive universities by Maclean's Magazine's "University of the Year". In addition, SFU is ranked No.226 in QS World University rankings, and ranked 251-300 in Times Higher Education World University Rankings. 

The main purpose of this dlegation is to renew the MOU and student mobility agreement with NTNU. During the renewal ceremony, both Presidents introduces the strong features of their universities, and how both sides could collaborate and exchange acedemically in the future. For example, according to the Vice President for International Affairs, Office of International Affairs, he mentions that NTNU has the largest and the most renowned Mandarin Teaching center (MTC) in Taiwan, with around 1,700 students from more than 70 countries enrolled each academic quarter. In the near future, Prof. Yu suggests that students from SFU could visit NTNU and take the short-term program in NTNU's MTC center.     

In addition, President Wu also emphasized that NTNU has the advantage of numerous learning resources, not only in the field of education but also other subjects. Moreover, since NTNU is part of the "Taiwan University system", students from other countries that studies in NTNU can not only take intersting courses from this campus, but also other excellent universities such as National Taiwan University and Taiwan Technology Uiversity. Based on President Wu's words, he explains that such system allows exchange students to have more choices on course selecting, thus further have the chance to abosorb different aspects of  knowledge. 

During the discussion session, President Petter and other fellows also share their thoughts on how to enhance the academic exchange and cooperaction. In accordance to SFU representatives, they mentioned that they have been encouraging their faculty members to participate in workshops from other universities. Also, they provided several courses for international students that studies in their school. Furthermore, they mentioned that SFU will be the main host of APAIE conference in the year 2020, which is a great honor for them. President Petter also invites NTNU to join in this huge event on the scene.

To conclude, both universities are honored and delightful to renew the MOU and student mobility agreement. By signing these two agreements, both of them look forward to maintain a more firm partnership and further cooperation.