On September 10, 2024, a delegation from National Cheng-Kung University (NCKU), led by Prof. Shin-Mei Kao, Dean of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature, and Prof. Wenli Tsou, Director of the Foreign Language Center, visited the University of Warsaw (UoW). The group, accompanied by Suzen Tseng, Director of the Education Division at the Taipei Representative Office in Poland, met with Prof. Agata Bareja-Starzyńska, Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at UoW, and Vice Dean Prof. Józef Pawłowski, along with Prof. Małgorzata Religa, Director of the Sinology Department.
During the meeting, Prof. Kao shared exciting news: the Huayu BEST program between UoW and NCKU has successfully secured funding from Taiwan's Ministry of Education. This collaboration is expected to create new opportunities for cooperation in Mandarin Chinese teaching and learning between the two institutions.
The Huayu Bilingual Exchange of Selected Talents (Huayu BEST) Program, initiated by Taiwan’s Ministry of Education (MOE), aims to promote the development of Huayu (Mandarin Chinese) education. The MOE encourages Taiwanese universities to build long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with top universities in Europe and the U.S. The program offers opportunities for language teacher exchanges, Huayu BEST scholarships for students, access to Mandarin proficiency testing, and online learning resources for partner universities. Students selected for the program will have the chance to live in a Mandarin-speaking environment, improve their language skills, and deepen their understanding of Taiwanese culture and society.
Prof. Bareja-Starzyńska expressed her enthusiasm for the collaboration with NCKU, introducing the structure of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at UoW. She emphasized that the program would benefit both students and faculty, not only in the area of Mandarin language studies but across various academic disciplines. Prof. Religa also voiced her hopes that the program would enhance Mandarin proficiency among UoW students and strengthen ties between Taiwanese and Polish higher education institutions.
Both universities are planning to recruit students for a short-term summer language course in July 2025 and to facilitate regular faculty exchanges in the future.
