The Education Division of the Taipei Representative Office in the EU & Belgium organized a meeting held on September 21st for the Taiwan Student Associations in the Benelux region, i.e. Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The purpose of the occasion was to increase the quality of Taiwan students’ study experience abroad and to strengthen ties between the students in the Benelux countries and those in other parts of Europe. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Taiwan Student Associations at 15 universities in the Benelux region and also several guest speakers.

The meeting began with a presentation by Huei-wen Hsu, the Director of the Education Division, about the range of resources provided by the Ministry of Education, and the academic programs promoted by the Education Division. Secretary Chan Hsiu-ming of the Consular Affairs Division talked about visa-related matters and safety precautions the students should take while abroad.

Two scholars, Mr. Chu Wen-yang and Mr. Chang Kai-fan, outlined practical details about living, studying, and working in Belgium and in the Netherlands respectively, and Wu Tien-li, a former president of the Taiwan Student Association at KU Leuven, provided valuable information on the organization and functioning of Taiwan Student Associations. The participants then shared their experiences of activities they had engaged in during the last year and the meeting concluded on a positive successful note, with people discussing how to facilitate closer interaction in the future using Facebook.