A total 587 memorandums of understanding were concluded by 59 Taiwan and Indonesia universities Dec. 11 in Taipei City, underscoring the rapidly expanding education ties between the two sides.
The agreements were inked by 35 local institutions and 24 universities under the Muhammadiyah Higher Education and Research Council, the tertiary education arm of Indonesia’s second largest Islamic organization. According to the Ministry of Education, the pacts will help strengthen collaboration in such areas as curriculum development, research and talent cultivation.
MOE Deputy Minister Yao Leehter said the accords are initial results from Taiwan Connection, an initiative launched earlier this year in line with the government’s New Southbound Policy. Under the program, the ministry is working to help local universities establish cooperative links with educational institutions in 10 policy target countries—India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
Yao said that through the initiative, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Science in September launched a health care training facility in the city of Yogyakarta—the first Taiwan center accredited by the Indonesian government to conduct educational courses in nursing. The new pacts will build on such recent exchanges by significantly expanding academic ties between the two sides, he added.
Lincolin Arsyad, chairman of Muhammadiyah’s HERC, said that the accords represent a significant step in his organization’s efforts to strengthen the education environments and internationalization of member universities. The council looks forward to exploring further opportunities for collaboration between Taiwan universities and other higher education institutions under Muhammadiyah, he added.
According to the MOE, local colleges and universities are creating Muslim-friendly campuses as part of wider efforts to attract more international students and deepen education exchanges with Indonesia. To date, a total 12 universities have implemented measures such as establishing prayer rooms and offering halal meals, the ministry said.
Taiwan is an increasingly popular destination for students from the Southeast Asian nation. According to the latest MOE statistics, the number of Indonesian tertiary students enrolled at local institutions rose from 3,489 in 2014 to 4,986 last year. (CPY-E)
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