NPUST’s President Chin-Lung Chang and International Affairs Director Vincent Shih visited the UK from September 17 ~25 this year (‘23) together with a delegation led by Director General Yu-Huei Yang of the Department of Technological and Vocational Education (MOE). The purpose of this visit was to gain an understanding of the reforms being made to technical and vocational higher education in the UK, and learn about measures they have used to promote their “degree apprenticeship system”, as well as the experiences they have gained. The UK has developed a mature and institutionalized system for technical and vocational education, and NPUST hoped to learn from some of their successful cases during the visit, so they can use what they learned as a reference for future industry-university collaboration.
Director General Yu-Huei Yang expressed that “the UK is the world’s top ‘old-brand’ industrial country; and its approach to industry, economic, and social development and transformation serve as a model for advanced countries. The UK’s experience in educational transformation is worth learning from and we are grateful to the British government agencies and universities for selflessly sharing educational blueprints that are able to line up with industrial transformation and social trends. Many of their experiences can be used as a reference for Taiwan as it promotes the transformation of its technical and vocational education.”
This trip was sponsored by the Taiwan Ministry of Education and co-organized by the National Yunlin University of Science and Technology. The delegation included presidents and top-level supervisors from 12 science and technology universities in Taiwan. During their time in the UK, the group visited two official agencies under the British Ministry of Education as well as the City of Westminster College, Warwick Trident College, Coventry University, and other schools.
During a Taiwan-UK higher vocational education exchange meeting on September 19, the Taiwan delegation had discussions with representatives of the UK Department for Education, Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, Department for Business and Trade International Education Team, University Alliance, Universities UK International, University of West London, Middlesex University, University of Hertfordshire, Kingston University and the University of Brighton.
Together, they discussed a variety of topics, including British Apprenticeship System; international cooperation strategies of British universities; the current situation of international education cooperation; the current situation of Taiwan’s technical and vocational higher education promotion; the British University Alliance and the enhancement of international mobility; and future prospects of Taiwan’s technical and vocational education and international education cooperation. The two parties had a pleasant exchange and were able to learn more about the characteristics each other’s technical and vocational education systems.
In the future, the Taiwan Ministry of Education Department of Technical and Vocational Education plans to work with its British counterpart to organize the “Taiwan-British Higher Technical & Vocational University Alliance”. Through regular exchange visits and items of cooperation, the two parties aim to establish a long-term and stable partnership. NPUST also looks forward to working with the UK and establishing more substantial cooperative relationships with British universities. Together, they hope to jointly cultivate more outstanding talent with practical skills, professional knowledge, and enhanced international competitiveness.
