A group of 14 senior secondary school principals and teachers, accompanied by Ms. Tsai Shih, a school inspector in the Department of Education of the Taipei City Government, visited two schools in Vienna in Austria on October 7, 2015, accompanied by personnel from the Education Division.

In the morning, the delegation visited Anton Krieger Gasse, a secondary school in the 23rd district. This school puts a particular focus on the integration of disabled students, for example children with a hearing impairment. Many classes have two teachers, with one teacher attending to the needs of disabled students during the class. The delegation visited a 7th grade history class (students aged 17 and 18), and were impressed by the way that the teacher incorporated philosophy, physics, and religion into his teaching.

In the afternoon the delegation visited a secondary school of economics, BHAK Wien 10, in Vienna’s 10th district. Ms. Evelyn Meyer, who has been to Taiwan three times, greeted them warmly in Chinese. She had organized an eventful program. They first saw a “model” polling station that the school had set up to help its students prepare for the Viennese local government elections that would be taking place the following Sunday. In Austria the voting age is 16, so some of the students would soon be casting their vote in real life.

Next, the delegation visited classes undertaking an intercultural studies course. The teachers had set up an interview situation and the students asked the delegation members about the customs, traditions, and food in Taiwan. The last feature of the visit was learning about the Training Enterprises system that was established in Austria in the late 1980s that teaches students how to run an enterprise. Students in 7th grade (aged 17 and 18) have to undertake a project that spans over a year. The students have to set up real departments within a company, organize events, set up an internet page, and trade products.

The BHAK Wien 10 principal, Dr. Ute-Maria Oberreiter, told the delegation that in the near future a training enterprise will be set up in Taiwan with the support of BHAK. Some of the teachers teach in vocational schools in Taiwan so this sparked great interest. It could lead to future cooperation between vocational high schools and colleges in Taiwan and those in Austria. After experiencing these learning settings, the delegation returned to Taiwan full of positive impressions and valuable information and ideas.