Western Sydney University and Minghsin University of Science and Technology MOU Signing Ceremony
Remarks by Australian Representative Jenny Bloomfield
21 June 2022
I am very pleased to join you from Canberra to mark this landmark MOU between Western Sydney University and Minghsin University of Science and Technology.
I congratulate Vice-Chancellor Glover, President Liu, and all those involved in today’s MOU.
Australia and Taiwan have a long-standing and deep friendship that extends across many fields - but perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than in education.
Australia is Taiwanese students’ second most popular overseas study destination; a quarter of a million young Taiwanese have visited Australia under the Working Holiday Maker Scheme; and over 1,000 Australian undergraduates have studied in Taiwan under the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan. As we re-emerge from the pandemic, we look forward to strengthening these links.
Our education partnership is set to deepen even further as Taiwan pursues its Bilingual 2030 policy.
In March this year, the Australian Office, together with Taiwan’s National Development Council and the Ministry of Education, was proud to host the inaugural Australia-Taiwan English Language Learning Dialogue.
The Dialogue launched a new English Language Learning Partnership that will promote English language learning by connecting Australia’s world-leading English language providers with Taiwanese institutions taking forward the Bilingual 2030 policy. It will also promote sister school relationships, joint degree programs, vocational education and training, talent circulation and skills exchanges, and student, teacher, academic and professional exchanges.
And I would like to acknowledge here Director-General Dr Nicole Lee and thank her for her ongoing support in this initiative.
The MOU we are witnessing today is a demonstration of our closer cooperation.
It will not only enable students to undertake joint programs in disciplines such as Engineering, Business Management, Design, or Interpretation and Translation, but it will also train teachers in English as a Medium of Instruction, helping to expand English language education across Hsinchu schools.
Today’s MOU is also the first step in three-way cooperation with the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, further deepening links with another key education partner.
I congratulate Minghsin University and Western Sydney University for their outstanding efforts, and thank the Ministry of Education and the Hsinchu County government for their support.
I have no doubt that this will be the first of many agreements between Australian and Taiwanese institutions, and I thank and congratulate you all once again.