NTU and KU Sign Strategic Partnership Agreement to Further Collaborations

NTU and Kyoto University (KU) signed a strategic partnership agreement online on August 5, pledging to join hands in furthering mutual collaborations in interdisciplinary and international research.

Since 2005, NTU and KU have begun frequent collaborations and exchanges, working together to establish student exchange programs, faculty exchange programs, and dual degree programs, as well as signing nearly 30 agreements of cooperation. To advance mutual cooperation, the two schools have hosted three campus-wide interdisciplinary symposiums, drawing over 500 faculty and student participants from both sides and opening up collaboration opportunities in 14 research fields. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the signing ceremony of the strategic partnership agreement was moved online, with NTU President Chung-Ming Kuan (管中閔), Vice President for International Affairs Hsiao-Wei Yuan (袁孝維), KU President Juichi Yamagiwa (山極壽一), Executive Vice-President Nagahiro Minato (湊長博), and Vice-President for International Strategy Yasuyuki Kono (河野泰之) joining the virtual signing event. They greeted one another and discussed key areas of future research cooperation, opening up new research opportunities and building potential connections. Also, NTU’s efforts and measures in maintaining campus safety during the pandemic were recognized and praised by KU’s administration.

During the videoconference, KU President Yamagiwa also formally introduced the incumbent Executive Vice-President Nagahiro Minato as the incoming President of KU, who will inaugurate on October 1 and take over the responsibilities of running KU while reaching consensuses on the internationalization of higher education.

Currently, NTU has over 600 partner universities. Starting from 2013, NTU has established strategic partnerships with a number of renowned universities worldwide, including the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, University of Tsukuba, Peking University, University of Sydney, University of Hamburg, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Strategic partnerships initiated by NTU are aimed to encourage and facilitate bilateral faculty and research exchanges that surround global issues and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The International Collaboration Seed Funding, a project launched by NTU’s Office of International Affairs, has also funded over 40 collaboration projects between NTU and KU. By signing this strategic partnership agreement, the two universities will continue to work collaboratively to support and facilitate collaborations in diverse domains and fields.