Members of the FICHET delegation

FICHET—the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan—organized a delegation of representatives of 23 universities in Taiwan to participate in the 2023 Annual European Association for International Education Conference and Exhibition which was held in Rotterdam in the Netherlands from September 26 to 29. The delegation was led by the Chair of FICHET, Dr. Wu Cheng-Chih. 
The European Association for International Education (EAIE), established in 1989, helps academic and non-academic professionals in their work by equipping them with best practices and workable solutions for internationalization challenges. Its annual conference provides a platform for strategic exchanges and serves as an opportunity for people to network exchange ideas, discuss key educational issues, share experiences, expertise and resources related to the internationalization of higher education, and promote transnational  cooperation. It’s Europe’s annual largest international education conference, and this year it brought together more than 6,700 participants from more than 100 countries  in Europe, the United States, Oceania, Asia and Africa. 
The conference gave universities in Taiwan an opportunity to showcase the quality of Taiwan’s higher education and enhance its international profile. FICHET organized a Study in Taiwan exhibition area that showcased Taiwan’s innovative higher education, including advanced technical and vocational education. Embracing the conference theme Connecting Currents, it also offered people an opportunity to learn about Taiwan’s higher education online through the EAIE Virtual Platform. The representatives of universities in Taiwan interacted with representatives of universities around the world, provided information about their institution’s academic and research programs, and discussed potential exchanges. On Friday morning, Professor Yang Kuo-Hsin, Associate Vice President for International Affairs at Taiwan National University chaired a session on The power of global citizenship as a catalyst for internationalisation initiatives. 
The Education Division of the Taipei Representative Office in the EU and Belgium assisted the FICHET delegation throughout the conference and also arranged meetings to discuss exchanges with local universities. On Thursday September 28, for example, Chen Yuwen, the director of the Education Division, led members of the delegation to visit Erasmus MC, an academic hospital and the medical faculty of  Erasmus University Rotterdam. This is a leading European clinical medicine institution and the visit gave the representatives of National Taiwan University, National Tsing Hua University, Chang Gung University, Kaohsiung Medical University, National Cheng Kung University, and Taipei Medical University an understanding of possibilities for educational and research collaboration with the medical center. 
Erasmus MC has already welcomed Taiwanese students to their facilities and this year sent a group of Dutch students to a summer school at National Cheng Kung University, and it is happy to explore further research and academic exchanges with universities in Taiwan.
FICHET also hosted a Taiwan Night on September 28, when approximately 100 people from universities and colleges in Taiwan and all over Europe, from the Netherlands, and Belgium to the Czech Republic and Spain, enjoyed a networking banquet together. The Education Division helped invite representatives of major universities in Belgium and the Netherlands to attend  and asked Representative Chen Hsin-hsin from the Taipei Representative Office in the Netherlands to formally open the evening. This convivial gathering provided another opportunity to talk about international education practices and exchange ideas, and at the same time enjoy a taste of Taiwan’s culture.