Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre, Ashoka University ink pact to set up Taiwan Education Center
NEW DELHI: Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre (TECC), India, and Ashoka University signed an MOU to set up Taiwan Education Center at the latter’s campus.
A virtual ceremony to this effect was organised on September 24.
As per the terms of the agreement, Ashoka University will host a Taiwanese Mandarin Teacher and set up a Taiwan Education Center at their campus.
TECC Representative and Ambassador Baushuan Ger, Ashoka University Prof Srinath Raghavan, Prof. Ashwini Deshpande, Prof. Eloise Wright; former Ambassador Shivshankar Menon, Chair of the Ashoka Centre for China Studies (ACCS), Peters Chen, Director, Education Division TECC; Prof Srinath Raghavan; and faculty members attended the virtual event.
Ambassador Ger in his remarks congratulated both parties for finalizing the MOU and expressed his best wishes for the success of the collaboration. He highlighted the importance of the Mandarin language to understand the culture of Taiwan and how “this partnership will further give scholars and students of both sides, an opportunity to collaborate, interact and conduct exchange programmes on subjects of languages and mutual interest in the future.”
Chairperson of the Ashoka Centre for China Studies, Ambassador Menon, extended his strong support to the collaboration and mentioned how the TEC at Ashoka will act as one of a benchmarking language lab in North India, where students and faculty from the university as well as its partner universities could learn the Mandarin language there. He also appreciated the efficient arrangement by the Taiwan side. Through this cooperation, he expects Indian students can know more about China through understanding the language.
Ambassador Ger highlighted the role of universities and industry for the goal of the national development of a country. “Not only does the university or industry contribute to the knowledge production but also a collaboration between these two institutions is becoming a critical component for the future innovation. This is truly illustrated both in India and in Taiwan. With the new industrial developments between India and Taiwan, we expect to see many more Taiwanese companies coming to India, which will open up new job opportunities for the Indian people in the near future.”
Taiwan has typically been seen as an ideal destination to pursue STEM-related studies, however, Peters Chen, Director of the Education division, TECC, urges more students from the social science and humanities background to consider Taiwan for further research in East Asian and Chinese studies, especially from prestigious Ashoka University.
Mr. Chen said, “The majority of Indian students who go to Taiwan for higher studies are from a STEM background and programs in the field of social sciences need to be promoted.”
Taiwan education center at Ashoka will provide exchange information of scholarships to both students and faculty members for pursuing degrees in Taiwan. Students as a group will also have the opportunity to learn Mandarin in Taiwan’s university.
Ashoka University is a leading academic institution based in Sonipat, Haryana, and offers courses at Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels. Under the MOU, the University will host a Mandarin-language Teacher from Taiwan at their campus to offer Mandarin language classes to its students and provide information regarding scholarship and studying in Taiwan.
The Mandarin teacher acts as a bridge between the host university and educational institutions in Taiwan and helps facilitate communication between the two. Furthermore, students can also get relevant information regarding available scholarships and other opportunities to pursue their further studies in Taiwan.
Ashoka University focuses on liberal education and excels in the field of social sciences. Through this partnership, new areas of collaboration in the social science field could be discovered. Students could take part in joint exchange programs and help develop means to strengthen bilateral ties between the two nations.
