The Sixth Taiwan-Indonesia Higher Education Forum was held virtually for the first time on November 25-26, 2021. With the support from the Ministry of Education of Taiwan, this superb forum was jointly organized Taiwan Education Center in Surabaya supervised by Asia University and the Education Division in Taipei Economic and Trade Office (TETO) in Indonesia. Rectors and Executive Staffs of 59 Taiwan Universities and 54 Indonesia universities participated in the forum.
In response to covid-19 pandemic situation and the high need of digital learning rapid development, the theme of this year forum was about “Challenges and Opportunities of Higher Education in the Age of Globalization, Digital Technology and the New Normal.” This forum has become a grand platform for cooperation and exchange between Taiwan and Indonesia universities to exchange practices and experiences which are relevant to the theme. Audrey Tang, Digital Minister of Taiwan, was invited to give a special speech at the forum to share Taiwan’s experience in pandemic prevention using digital technology.
In the opening ceremony of the forum, Prof. Nizam, the Director General of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology of Indonesia, and Mon-Chi Lio, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Education of Taiwan, were invited to deliver speeches on behalf of the Ministry of Education of both sides. Mon-Chi Lio stated that it is essential for people in the higher education sector to open-mindedly consider new approaches and ideas, and welcome constructive criticism for fully sustainable future. Afterwards, Prof. Nizam quoted that universities must stay relevant with 4.0 industry revolution and prepare students with adaptive capability, digital literacy, multidisciplinary competencies. To support this vision, Prof Nizam expressed his hope that friendship between Taiwan and Indonesia can be more strengthen and engaged through international academic collaboration and student exchange program like IISMA (Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards).
On February 2022, IISMA will send 39 selected Indonesia students to three partners universities in Taiwan, those universities are National Taiwan University (NTU), National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), and National Taiwan Universities of Science and Technology (NTUST).
John Chen, the Representative of TETO Indonesia, and Budi Santoso, the Representative of Indonesia Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan, also participated in this grand forum. John Chen pointed out that Covid-19 pandemic has brought about horrific changes in all walks of life in the world, and education is no exception. Nevertheless, this situation has also prompted rapid technological and digital revolution, hence resulted in better online services. John Chen believes that the discussion from all parties will bountifully enlighten everyone and make this event fruitful.
On the second day of the forum, a MoU signing ceremony was arranged with more than 100 universities from Taiwan and Indonesia expressed their enthusiasm to collaborate in. The ceremony was witnessed by Nicole Yen-Yi Lee as the Director General for Department of International and Cross-strait Education in Taiwan. During this ceremonial session, 6 universities from each side became representatives to sign the MoU due to limited time. However, the MoU signing will be continued and arranged in other occasions. From Taiwan sides, there were National Sun Yat-Sen University (NSYSU), National Dong Hwa University (NDHU), National Changhua University of Education (NCUE), Asia University (AU), National Chin-Yi University of Technology (NCUT), and Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology (CTUST). While from Indonesia sides, the representatives were Universitas Airlangga, Universitas Brawijaya, UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang, Universitas Jember, Universitas Diponegoro, and Universitas Sam Ratulangi.
During the closing ceremony of the forum, Nicole Yen-Yi Lee emphasized that under the New Southbound Policy by Taiwan Government, the Ministry of Education of Taiwan offers many scholarships and programs to promote collaborative research, and educational links between Taiwan and Indonesia. The MoU signing in this Forum is clearly a testimony to Ministry of Education of Taiwan’s commitment. In the meantime, Nicole also hopes that all the forum members can learn from each other’s experiences and share their educational resources.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Education of Taiwan, there were 6,453 Indonesian students studied in Taiwan in 2017. In 2020, the number has increased year by year to 13,804, more than doubled, and Indonesia has become the third largest origin country for international students.