Center, Prof. Krishna Pal Singh and Peters Chen holding the signed MOUs, together with dignitaries attending the ceremony

The Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Culture Center in India (TECC) is working actively to strengthen bilateral relations between India and Taiwan, and the Taipei Economic and Culture Center in India (TECC) signed a memorandum of understanding with Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University on October 28, 2021, in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.

The MOU was signed by Peters Chen, Director of the Education Division of TECC in India and Prof. Krishna Pal Singh, Vice-Chancellor of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University. The signing ceremony was attended by Mr. Baushuan Ger, Representative of Taiwan; Dr. Wang Chin-Tsan, Director of the Science and Technology Division at TECC; Ms. Ellie Chiang, manager at TECC, and Ms. Tsai Jen-Chun, secretary at TECC.

Mandarin is not included in the National Education Policy 2020 list of optional language subjects for India’s school level students, but interest in multilingual learning Mandarin has increased, and in 2020, the central government gave the university approval to set up its Center of Excellence for Multilingual Studies. Students at the university will be able to take three Mandarin courses: the Certificate of proficiency in Mandarin course; the Certificate in translation English-Mandarin course; and the Certificate in Interpreting Studies - Mandarin course. Each is a year-long course. 

The MOU makes Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University home to the 22nd Taiwan Education Center in India, and the university will employ a language teacher from Taiwan to teach Mandarin to its students. The teacher will also help students apply for scholarships to academic and research institutions in Taiwan, so that they can pursue their further education there. 

The Director of the Education division, Peters Chen said, “This university has more than half a million students, in disciplines ranging from science and technology to the humanities and social sciences, and the Mandarin teacher will also play a key role in strengthening academic relations between India and Taiwan, by helping the university establish links with universities in Taiwan.”