What’s New in Taiwan? – A successful networking conference to enhance cooperation and exchanges between universities in Taiwan and Germany

Baden Württemberg International (BW-i) held a higher education network conference titled “What’s New in Taiwan?” in Stuttgart, the capital of the German state Baden-Württemberg on April 6 2016. The main goal of this conference was to promote networking and cooperation between Taiwan and German universities. Five universities in Taiwan were invited to participate, and personnel from National Formosa University, National Hsinchu University of Education, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, and Yuanpei University of Medical Technology took part in the workshops, along with personnel from seventeen German institutions of higher education.

Academia and the industry sector cooperating in higher education is a key area of interest for educators all around the world and this was a strong focus of this networking conference. Ms Weng Chin-Ying, Director of the Education Division of the Taipei Representative Office in Germany was invited to speak and she gave an overview of the range of universities in Taiwan that are similar to the Universities of Applied Sciences in Germany that primarily prepare students to enter professional work. She then outlined the current exchanges and cooperative interaction that have already been established between universities in Taiwan and universities in Baden-Wuerttemberg.

The delegation from Taiwan heard a presentation about Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW) and the role that companies play in Germany’s Universities of Applied Sciences. As DHBW states on its website, its“cooperative degree programme is designed according to the real requirements of the labour market, as well as businesses and/ or social institutions, and guarantees a unique combination of theory and practical work.”

After the conference BW-i arranged one-on-one meetings between the conference attendees from Taiwan and those from Baden-Württemberg to explore further exchange possibilities. The delegation from Taiwan also visited DHBW, the University of Applied Sciences in Stuttgart, and the University of Applied Sciences in Biberach, and some of the companies that these universities work with to see the dual education system first-hand. It was a very encouraging end to a successful visit.