When it comes to technology development in agriculture and achievements in talent cultivation, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) has earned itself a favorable reputation around the world. It has also gained the confidence from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who recruited it be a host school for its semester-long “2023 New Southbound Policy Elites Study Program “. An opening ceremony was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at 10 a.m. on September 15 (Friday). NPUST’s President, Dr. -Ing Chin-Lung Chang, participated in the event, together with the Office of International Affairs and 20 students from the New Southbound Policy Elites Study Program. Across Taiwan, only four universities were selected to join this program, including National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, National Quemay University, and National Taipei University of Technology. These universities will be hosting a total of 70 students from eight countries which are associated with the New Southbound Policy. At the ceremony, some of the VIPs included Mr. Twekiat Janprajak, representative of Thailand, Mrs. Aznifah Isnariah Binti Abdul Ghani, representative of Malaysia, Mr. Zulmartinof, deputy representative of Indonesia, deputy representatives of Vietnam, deputy representatives of India, and Hsiao Chen-jung, executive secretary of the Economic and Trade Negotiation Office of the Executive Yuan.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang delivered a speech, saying “to achieve the talent exchange goals of the New Southbound Policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized the first New Southbound Elites Study Program last year, cooperating with Taipei Medical University, National Quemay University and National Taipei University of Technology, and recruiting 50 students from six New Southbound countries to study in Taiwan. The results proved very favorable. This year is the second year to host this program, and with a new partner, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, has been added to the program. The source countries of students have also been expanded from six to eight, with Myanmar and Pakistan joining in as well.”
President of NPUST, Dr. -Ing Chin-Lung Chang, said in his speech, “we would like to thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its strong support; and we welcome the students from the New Southbound Countries to Taiwan for the program. We would also like to express our gratitude to all the overseas representative offices for their efforts in making this special class a reality.” While the other three universities specialize in health & medicine, semiconductors, and regional security, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology has achieved outstanding results in R&D and international cooperation in the agricultural field. Catching the attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this year they were invited to organize professional class in agriculture, and create greater opportunities for the New Southbound Elite cooperation and exchange. This semester, 20 students are enrolled in the class at NPUST, with 11 from Thailand, 8 from Indonesia and 1 from Vietnam. In addition to taking Chinese language courses, this semester the students will also be taking at least 9 elective credits in agriculture related curriculum (such as Sustainable Agriculture, Animal Feed Management, Aquaculture, Food Processing, Agro-industry Management, Animal Vaccinations, etc.). Hopes ae that after dedicating themselves to the semester-long training class, the students’ Chinese language abilities will see considerable improvement and they will gain more in-depth understandings of the agriculture industry. And once they have experienced the beauty of Taiwan and had a taste of the rich cuisine and culture, hopes are also that they will be inspired to pursue further studies at NPUST in the future.
