The MOE Launches Taiwan Studies Project in India
Taiwan’s Ministry of Education launched the first 2-year Taiwan Studies Project in India at FLAME University in Pune on November 29, 2021, through the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India (TECC). The 2-year project is designed to extend Indian scholars’ knowledge of Taiwan in the field of democratic governance, including disaster management and public health.
The MOU for the Project was signed by Peters Chen, Director of the Education Division at TECC, and Dr. Roger Liu, Associate Professor of International Politics in the Department of Social Sciences at FLAME University, the Project coordinator. The signing ceremony was attended by Dr. Dishan Kamdar, the Vice-Chancellor of FLAME University, Representative of Taiwan, Mr. Ger Baushaun, Deputy Representative Dr. Chen Mumin, TECC Secretary Ms. Tsai Jen-Chun, Director of the Science Division Dr. Wang Chin-Tsan, Assistant Director Ms. Ellie Chiang, Mandarin teacher Ms. Wu Ling, Ms. Manjeet Kripalani, Founding Executive Director of Gateway House, along with researchers, scholars and students from India and abroad.
Representative Ger Baushuan spoke at the MOU signing ceremony, congratulating FLAME University on launching this project, and looking forward to having more academic and educational links between India and Taiwan.
Vice-Chancellor Dr. Dishan Kamdar said, “I am delighted to announce that FLAME University is the first university in India to host a 2-year Taiwan Studies Project. To find out about different countries, their values, their systems, and so on can be a good learning experience and I am sure that this Project will be beneficial for both India and Taiwan.”
Peters Chen, Director of the Education Division, explained that he and FLAME University had begun discussions about the project in 2019, “The Project was approved by the Ministry of Education in 2020 but the signing of this MOU was delayed by the severe COVID-19 pandemic in India, so we are all very glad about today’s signing ceremony”.
Dr. Roger Liu, the Project coordinator, said, “this Taiwan Studies Project will conduct a comparative study of democratic governance and its practice in India and Taiwan, both of which are democracies but with different political, economic, historical and geographical backgrounds. The Project aims to create dialogues and conversations among the Indian, Taiwanese and international academic communities, comparing the democratic governance practices in areas such as environmental governance, public health, women’s rights, and foreign policy practice, to produce high-quality research with comparative perspectives.”
After the ceremony, scholars participated in an India–Taiwan: Partners for the Future Roundtable to discuss economic and educational development, and its democratic lessons for Indo–Taiwan relations. The roundtable was chaired by Ms. Manjeet Kripalani, the Founding Executive Director of Gateway House.