【Reported by Shi-qing Huang, Tamkang Times】On November 13th President Flora Chia-I Chang participated in the 10th Annual QS-Apple Conference organized by Taipei Medical University and Quacquarelli Symonds in Taiwan. As head of the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan, President Chang spoke on the issue of, “The Future of Higher Education from a Taiwan Perspective.”

The discussion focused on the future of development in Taiwan, including many issues that it is being confronted with such as the baby bust generation. She mentioned that the university must meet head on with these issues by increasing its universal standing and raising its level of global competitiveness. She also stated that the school must be self-sufficient as it cultivates graduates with professional skills and creates more international relationships. At the end of the conference she stated, “We must not overlook the importance of a very detailed and organized academic system that adheres to international needs.” (A draft of the speech can be found at http://tkutimes.tku.edu.tw)

Member of the International Advisory Committee, Prof Nigel Healey, and Minister of the Ministry of Education, President Lucia S. Lin, attended the conference to give suggestions and input on how to raise the quality of international education. There were over 700 higher learning academic leaders in total.