Director General Dr. Lee Yu-Jiuan Visits Malaysia to Strengthen Educational Collaboration
Dr. Lee Yu-Jiuan 李毓娟, Director-General of the Ministry of Education’s Department of International and Cross-Strait Education visited Kuala Lumpur from April 23 to April 25, 2025. During her visit, she engaged with local educational leaders and institutions to strengthen educational exchanges between Taiwan and Malaysia and discuss new opportunities for collaboration.
On April 23, the delegation visited the Centre for Malaysian Chinese Studies, where its chairman Mr. Yau Teck Kong 姚迪剛 explained its key role in Chinese cultural and social research in Malaysia. Dr. Lee praised the Centre’s efforts in preserving Chinese heritage and fostering academic exchanges, particularly with Taiwan. She also commended Mr. Yau for his work almost a decade ago when he was president of the Federation of Alumni Associations of Taiwan Universities, Malaysia (FAATUM). His leadership played an important role in establishing recognition of academic credentials and enhancing educational collaboration between Malaysia and Taiwan.
On April 24, Dr. Lee attended the opening of the 2025 Taiwan Higher Education Fair in Kuala Lumpur, organized by FAATUM. This was one of six major cities in Malaysia—Klang, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Miri, Sungai Petani, and Yong Peng—that this year’s Taiwan Higher Education Fair toured between April 21 and May 9, promoting educational opportunities in Taiwan.
In her opening remarks, Dr. Lee spoke about Malaysia’s key role as an educational partner to Taiwan saying that more than 100,000 Malaysian students have studied in Taiwan, and that the Ministry of Education is launching a Career Counseling and Retention in Taiwan for International Students Program in order to help such students develop their careers in Taiwan.
Dr. Lee expressed her appreciation to FAATUM for hosting the education fair and the participating universities—22 technology universities and 41 general universities—for their contributions to promoting Taiwan’s higher education. Taiwan has an excellent education system with affordable tuition, cultural diversity and a stable society, and cutting-edge technology and is ranked 8th in the 2024 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook. Taiwan has an increasing number of international students, especially students from Malaysia, and Taiwan is happy to welcome more Malaysian students to study and realize their dreams there.
In the afternoon, Dr. Lee and the delegation visited the United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong). Vice Chairman Mr. Yeoh Chai Kok 楊才國 and the team warmly welcomed them, and they talked about teacher training, vocational education, curriculum development, and the integration of emerging technologies into education. Dr. Lee spoke about the common educational values shared by Taiwan and Malaysia, expressed support for closer collaboration, and encouraged more Malaysian students to study in Taiwan. The association looks forward to strengthening development of a skilled workforce through joint curriculum design, assessment frameworks, and enhanced industry-academia cooperation.
At a dinner hosted by Mr. Beh Chew Nam 馬秋南 CEO of the Organization of Taiwan Education and Culture Malaysia, on April 24, Dr. Lee met with Malaysian educational leaders to explore further cooperation. This organization has been promoting education fairs in remote areas, teacher training programs, TOCFL tests, and study opportunities in Taiwan since 2013. Dr. Lee expressed appreciation for all these efforts and looked forward to continuing to work together to enhance learning and skills training.
The delegation also took this opportunity to visit FAATUM where they received a warm welcome from Pang King Hoe 彭慶和, president of FAATUM, and his team. Mr. Pang outlined the association’s contributions to preserving alumni history, offering further study guidance, and fostering cultural exchanges. Dr. Lee reiterated Taiwan’s commitment to expanding collaboration with Malaysia in the areas of higher education and skilled workforce training.
The three-day visit to Malaysia was very productive, giving the delegation opportunities to engage in practical discussions with local education organizations.
