NTU Presents at Two Sessions at NAFSA’s 70th Annual Conference

Themed “Diverse Voices, Shared Commitment,” the NAFSA 2018 Annual Conference & Expo took place during May 29 to June 1 in Philadelphia. Representing a top-ranking university committed to the core values of international education, NTU leaders gave presentations in two thought-provoking sessions at the conference. NTU also arranged over 50 meetings to ensure more international collaboration opportunities.

The first of the two sessions, “Impacts of Political and Global Trends on Student Mobility in the United States, Korea, and Taiwan,” featured presentations by Prof. Luisa Shu-Ying Chang (張淑英), session chair and Vice President for International Affairs at NTU; Dr. Jane Gatewood, Vice Provost for Global Engagement at the University of Rochester; and Dr. Sunhyuk Kim, Vice President for International Affairs at Korea University. The trio of presenters explored how geopolitical issues in a country can affect international students’ interests and their recruitment, and how international enrollment management could address these concerns.

The other session featured presentations by Ms. Linda Chang (張華玲), Director for Global Alliances at NTU; Dr. Paul Allen Miller, Vice Provost and Director of International Programs at the University of South Carolina; and Mr. David Huerta, Director of Short Term Academic Programs at Tecnológico de Monterrey. The audience was fascinated by the speakers’ proposals about how institutions of higher education can establish effective character-driven, sustainable, and globalized entrepreneurial ecosystems to advance intercultural learning.

The two sessions with presentations by NTU leaders inspired a flurry of discussions among attendees from Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Many of the attendees sought out NTU presenters after the sessions to build networks with them. The NTU presenters effectively promoted the adaptability and innovation agendas of Taiwan’s higher education community.

NAFSA is noted for the rich networking opportunities it provides to engage global educators and encourage them to build communities. Besides sessions, roundtables, workshops, and exhibitions, it offers campus tours and “Partner Days.” NTU delegates participated in the “Partner Day” hosted by its partner university, Temple University (TU), and visited its acclaimed campus of gardens. NTU also joined Universität Hamburg, Ewha Woman’s University, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong to discuss trilateral collaboration with TU.

Besides student exchange programs, NTU also joined TU’s Dual Bachelor's Master's Degree Program; one of NTU’s students will complete this program in 2018. This program combines undergraduate study at the student’s home institution with graduate coursework at TU, leading to a bachelor’s degree from the home institution and a master’s degree from TU, all within five years.