The University of Munich—the officially called Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich (LMU)—is one of the leading research universities in Germany and the sixth oldest, being founded in 1472. It is also one of the largest universities in Germany. It offers more than 200 study programs and has more than 52,000 students, about 18% of whom are international students. The university has strong connections to Taiwan in the form of student exchange partnerships with National Chengchi University, National Chung Hsing University, National Sun Yat-sen University, National Taiwan University, and Tamkang University.

On Friday, July 1, 2022, Prof. Shieh Jhy-Wey, Taiwan’s Representative of Taiwan in Germany, and personnel from the divisions of education, science, culture, and economics at the Taipei Representative Office and from its Munich branch met with Prof. Bernd Huber, the president of LMU and high-ranking university officials to discuss ideas and opportunities for future education and research related cooperation.

Prof. Bernd Huber was accompanied by Prof. Hans van Ess, the Vice President for Research, who is also head of the Department of Sinology, Prof. Francesca Biagin, the Vice President for International Affairs and Diversity, Dr. Stefan Lauterbach, Head of the International Office, and other university personnel. Dr. Lauterbach presented an overview of the university and outlined some of its international projects.

After the official talks with the university, students of the university were able to attend a session of talks given by the Taipei Representative Office delegation. Prof. Shieh opened the session with a speech about Taiwan and then each of the divisions gave a short presentation about their respective work portfolios and answered questions from the audience. The students were particularly interested in the study and research opportunities in Taiwan and the scholarship programs outlined by the Education Division. Many are now planning to go to Taiwan for a semester or two as an exchange student, or to learn Mandarin.

After the meeting, Prof. Shieh hosted a meet-and-greet session at the Munich branch of the Taipei Representative Office for Taiwanese students. Prof. Shieh and Dr. Dieu Ian-Tsing, the Director General of the Munich branch of the Taipei Representative Office told the students that Taiwan’s achievements in the past few years were obvious to all. They encouraged the students to not to be complacent but to study hard so that they could be successful in their various fields in the future.