Dr. Min-Ling Yang, Director General of the Department of International and Cross-Strait Education of the Ministry of Education, Republic of China (Taiwan), and Dr. Beate Palfrader a Member of the Tyrolean Government and responsible for Education, Family, and Culture there signed a memorandum of agreement in Taiwan on November 15, 2016, to promote future educational exchanges between Taiwan and the Tyrol.

Austria, officially “the Republic of Austria”, is a landlocked country in East Central Europe. The Republic of Austria is a federal state composed of nine autonomous federal provinces. The federal state and the provinces each have their own legislative bodies, executive organs, and so on. This means that the local government such as that of the Province of the Tyrol has great autonomy.

In the field of higher education, Innsbruck University, the Innsbruck Medical University, MCI Management Center Innsbruck, and the Kufstein University of Applied Sciences, all of which are located in the Tyrol, are all involved in cooperative partnerships with universities in Taiwan, but there is, however, less cooperation between Taiwan and the Tyrol in the fields of vocational education and general education. Under this MOU, education links between the Province of the Tyrol and Taiwan will be strengthened by promoting collaborative projects between educators in the Tyrol and educators in Taiwan; encouraging joint and collaborative efforts in the language teaching field; and encouraging educational and academic exchanges between individuals and/or educational institutions in Taiwan and those in the Tyrol, especially educational institutions providing tourism related programs.

During her stay in Taiwan, Dr. Beate Palfrader visited Jiufen elementary school, and Wulai Elementary and Junior High School, where she had a lunch with the children, and met with the principals of elementary schools, and discussed questions such as the opportunity for education available to students in remote and isolated areas with several professors. She learned more about the depth and breadth of Taiwan’s educational system and its other strengths, and experienced the warm hospitality and friendship of Taiwan’s people.