Signing ceremony for Agreement on Educational Cooperation between Taiwan and Thailand

The Agreement represents a landmark for cooperation on higher education between Taiwan and Thailand. It will establish a platform and mechanism for implementing faculty and student exchanges, providing scholarships, transferring credits, recognizing higher education degrees, and organizing educational exhibitions and academic seminars.

Taiwan and Thailand will launch the Taiwan-Thailand Elite 600 Program for which universities in Taiwan will waive the tuition fee for lecturers from Thai universities that pursue master’s or doctoral degrees in Taiwan, and their Thai universities will be responsible for their living costs in Taiwan. The number of lecturers from Thai universities participating in this program is expected to reach 600 within 5 years. This program will facilitate deeper and boarder cooperation in the higher education field between the two countries.

Taiwan and Thailand have close education ties: 421 agreements on educational cooperation have already been signed between their universities, and Taiwan and Thailand now take turns to host the Higher Educational Forum. The 3rd Higher Educational Forum will be held in Bangkok, November 20-21, 2013. For their part, universities in Taiwan will be participating in Taiwan Higher Educational Exhibitions in Thailand, designed to attract Thai students to study in Taiwan.

Internationalization of education is becoming increasingly recognized as a key factor for economic development and strengthening global competitiveness. The signing of this Agreement contributes to the internationalization of education in Taiwan and will have a profound impact on educational developments in both Taiwan and Thailand.

Photo: Mr. Henry Chen Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand, and Mr. Kriangsak Kittichaisaree, Representative of the Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei, with Dr. Pi-twan Huang, Deputy Minister of Education (2nd from left).