The Taiwan delegation, visiting Taiwan students and university officials at the University of Maine

Maine Central Institute (MCI), an independent grade 9–high school in Maine, has established sister-school partnerships and is engaging in substantial interaction with many senior secondary schools in Taiwan. 

Fifty-two students from MCI’s sister-schools in Taiwan flew to the United States at the end of June and in early July to attend a summer camp program together with students from MCI. Approximately half of the visiting students attend schools in Taoyuan City and to support the city’s international education collaborations, the city organized a delegation led by Mr. Lin Ming-Yu, Director of the Taoyuan City Government Department of Education, to accompany the students. In addition to leading the city delegation, Mr. Lin was commissioned to support the city’s international collaborations, observe the educational environment of Maine and explore opportunities for further education and other collaborations.

MCI arranged a field trip to the College of Engineering at the University of Maine on July 11 for all of the summer-camp participants—approximately 100 students—and the university invited the Taiwan delegation led by Mr. Lin and Ms. Huang Weiyu, the Director of the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Boston to join them.

The group of more than 100 students was welcomed by Dr. Brian Olsen, the Associate Provost for Student Success and Strategic Initiatives and Dr. Orlina Boteva, the Director of International Programs, accompanied the group on the visit. The visitors benefitted enormously from the on-site observation of the university’s engineering laboratories and equipment, which includes the largest 3D printer in the world. They were all greatly impressed by the vast educational investment that the Maine government has made in the flagship university of the state.