The second Malaysia-Taiwan Higher Education Forum was held on October 15, 2016 in Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) Perak Campus, Malaysia. The forum was very successful and it included ten universities from Taiwan and Malaysia signing a total of nine cooperative agreements.

The forum was organized by UTAR, and co-organized by Universiti Sains Malaysia, Feng Chia University in Taiwan, and the Taiwan Education Centre in Malaysia. This forum drew a total of 87 participants from 47 universities (24 from universities in Taiwan and 23 from universities in Malaysia) who gathered to share and discuss issues related to the forum's theme: International Collaboration for Human Capital Development.

Dr. Chen Liang-gee, the Political Deputy Minister of Education in the Republic of China (Taiwan) pointed out in his opening remarks that the forum provides a platform for creating opportunities and promoting further cooperation between higher education institutions in the two countries. He expressed his belief that mutual understanding is essential for international cooperation, saying “We are progressively setting up courses on languages spoken in Southeast Asia and we’re providing more scholarship assistance programs for our students to study and do internships here in Southeast Asia, to increase our mutual understanding.”

The first Taiwan-Malaysia Higher Education Forum was held at Feng Chia University, Taiwan in 2014. The results were fruitful and both parties were happy to organize the follow-up forum. Senator Dr. Hou Kok Chung, a UTAR Council Member who is a former Deputy Higher Education Minister, Prof. Dr. Raha Abdul Rahim, Director of the Higher Institutions Excellent Planning Division of the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia, James Chi-Ping Chang, the Representative at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Malaysia, and Prof. Dr. Lee Bing-Jean, President of Feng Chia University all attended to show their support for the forum.

Malaysia is a major source of Taiwan’s foreign students. There are currently almost 15, 000 Malaysian students in Taiwan. This is 3.5 times more than the number in 2007.

Photo: Dignitaries from L-R: Dr. Ting Chung Cheng, Advisor at the Taiwan Education Center in Malaysia (MTEC); Dr. Muhizam Mustafa, Director, International Mobility and Career Centre, University Sains Malaysia; Prof. Dr. Lee Bing-Jean, President of Feng Chia University; Dr. Liang-gee Chen, political Deputy Minister of Education, Taiwan; Dr. Chuah Hean Teik, President of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR); Senator Dr. Hou Kok Chung, UTAR Council Member; Prof. Dr. Raha Abdul Rahim, Director of Higher Institutions Excellent Planning Division, Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia; James Chi-Ping Chang, the Representative at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office; Prof. Dr. Pei Liu, Dean of International Affairs Office Feng Chia University; Prof. Dr. Ewe Hong Tat, Vice President of UTAR; and Beh Chew Nam, Chief Executive Office of MTEC.