The quantity of exchange students to TKU outnumbers that of previous years and reaches 59. The increase is prominent in the students from Europe and USA. And it is for the first time that California State University and Winona State University, two of TKU sister universities, send their students to TKU.

In the 2007 academic year, there will be 60 exchange students sending from 23 sister universities from 8 countries. In addition, there will be 188 international students come to TKU for their college degrees. Dr. Chen Hwei-mei, Director of Office of International Exchanges & International Education, indicates that many of our sister universities have add the numbers of their exchange students to TKU. Students from Germany, Austria, and other European countries are especially appreciative of our learning environment and the friendly and considerate relation between teachers and students, and they have hence publicized their satisfactory opinions in their home universities. This is the main reason why those sister schools increase the number of their exchange and international students.

TKU has put continuous efforts to materialize her objective of internationalization. The fist sister university, Chuo Gakuin University (Japan) was contracted in 1968. Presently, TKU has 97 sister universities, from twenty seven countries, across five continents. “Junior Abroad Program” was uphold by Founder Dr. Clement Chang. Fifteen years ago, male students were bounded by the duty of military service, and they could not go abroad studying without fulfilling the service. Founder Chang had solved the problem, and made TKU the first university in Taiwan to send junior students abroad, which has since substantiated TKU objective of internationalization. Until now, the calculation of the total participants in this program has reach 2000. Since the 2003 academic year, the special English class in Dept. of International Trade has been established. The students from this special class will all go abroad to TKU sister universities when they are junior. Junior students from Lanyang campus has joined this program for the first time this year, which is another landmark of internationalization.

Dr. Chen indicates that “The Office of International Exchange & International Education will continue to look for more channels and more wellbeing of abroad studying for students of TKU and her sister universities. The office staffs will devote themselves to introduce TKU’s characteristics to our sister schools to attract more international students.” In addition, the office will plan more projects of academic cooperation, such as double degrees for master programs, exchanging professors and administrative staffs, joint research projects, and conference. ( ~Chen Chi-szu )