12/08/2015．Wenzao Delegations Visit Mainland for Academic Exchange, Warming up for the 50th Anniversary Next Year

　
　

　

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The participants took a group photo outside of the Library of Beijing Foreign Studies University










Dec. 08, 2015







【News release: Public Relations Office】
 
    To push forward academic exchanges with sister schools, President Shieu-ming Chou of Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages led delegations to participate in the 12th Cross-Strait Conference on Foreign Language Teaching & Learning hosted by Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), the 14th Asian University Presidents Forum hosted by Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS), and GDUFS’s 50th anniversary. The exchanges acquired fruitful results. The presidents of the three universities promised to meet again on the 50th anniversary of, and academic conferences hosted by, Wenzao next year.    President Chou first of all led twelve other delegates from the school’s colleges and departments to the 12th Cross-Strait Conference on Foreign Language Teaching & Learning held from October 24th to 27th in BFSU. The conference was divided into the presidents’ forum and several sub-forums under the theme of Future Strategies and Models to Nurture Foreign Language Talents. President Chou delivered a keynote speech on higher education and the nurturing of foreign language talents in the presidents’ forum. The other presenters from the delegation included: Vice President Mei-hua Chen, Dean Shoou-huey Chang of the College of European and Asian Languages, Dean Ming-Rea Kao of the College of Cultural and Educational Innovation, Dean Jie-yu Tsai of the College of the Holistic Education, Dean Jing-pei Chen of Student Affairs, Director Wan-tsai Kung of the Continuing Education Division, Chairperson Hsiu-wen Wang of the Department of French, and Associate Professor Yi-jou Lo, Associate Professor Yi-ching Chiu and Assistant Professor Yi-ting Chen of the Department of English and Associate Professor Hai-feng Hu of the Department of International Business Administration.    Differing from the previous conferences, general education was included in this year’s agenda in addition to foreign language education. Dean Tsai of the College of the Holistic Education and Dean Chen of Student Affairs presented their respective research results on “An Exploration of University General Education and Development of Core Capabilities” and “the Implementation of Co-teaching in General Education”, respectively. Teachers from BFSU and Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) were particularly interested in Wenzao’s design of general education and innovative pedagogy. Vice President Chen said that after years of exchanges among the four schools across the Strait through the conference, Wenzao has acquired outstanding achievements on the education and research of foreign languages. Moreover, it has developed general education courses on foreign languages, which could be included into the exchange and observation agenda for the four schools across the Strait and serve to broaden the scope of the conference. Vice President Chen also expressed Wenzao’s willingness to share its unique co-teaching model to help promote the innovative teaching design of the general education curricula of the two schools in the mainland. President Chou also took advantage of the conference to meet Xing-yu Huang, an exchange student from Wenzao to BFSU, to understand how well she was doing in Beijing both academically and in daily life.    The Cross-Strait Conference on Foreign Language Teaching & Learning was initiated by Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Fu Jen Catholic University, Shanghai International Studies University and Beijing Foreign Studies University in 2004, and the four schools have since been taking turn to host this conference which aims to promote the exchange of experience of nurturing foreign language talents across the Strait, explore the trend of the cultivation of foreign language talents in the 21st century, and discuss curriculum and teaching design. This conference is recognized as an important event for the educational communities and a bridge for foreign language education exchanges across the Strait. Wenzao will take over as the host of the conference next year.
　    Wenzao Participates in GDUFS 50th Anniversary and the 14th Asian University Presidents Forum
　
Photo taken after signing the Agreement of Academic Exchange with Universidad Catolica de Santa Maria, Peru.
    President Shieu-ming Chou of Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages and Director Cris Cheng of the Office of Public Relations participated in the 50th anniversary of, and the 14th Asian University Presidents Forum hosted by, the sister school, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS), from November 4th to 9th. 173 presidents and representatives of 80 universities from 26 countries also took part in the grand 50th anniversary.    The theme of the 14th Asian University Presidents Forum which opened on November 6th was Asian Higher Education Connectivity: Vision, Process and Approach. The conference had six sessions, where 32 research papers were presented. The 1st Asian University Presidents Forum was held in Thailand in 2002, when the two host schools invited presidents of Asian universities to the forum. With more and more countries and schools participating each year, the conference is no longer limited to Asian universities. This year, representatives from universities in the UK, Poland, France, Russia, the US and Mauritius also took part in the conference; this has helped broaden the content of exchange, allowing participants to build a substantial relationship for academic exchanges through this platform.    Director Cheng of the Office of Public Relations said that GDUFS and Wenzao were established in a similar time period, and the two universities started their exchanges in 2006, when then Vice President Jian-ping Chen of GDUFS led a delegation to Wenzao’s 40th anniversary and signed a sister-school agreement with Wenzao. Over the years, the two universities have enjoyed frequent interactions, including exchange student and summer camp programs. Currently, there are nine GDUFS exchange students studying in Wenzao. In addition to the Asian University Presidents Forum, the two universities are both members of the U-6 Forum, through which presidents of both schools exchange visits and engage in close interactions. President Chou took the opportunity of the Asian University Presidents Forum to invite GDUFS President Wei-he Zhong and other sister schools to Wenzao’s 50th anniversary next year.    During this visit, Wenzao also signed agreements on academic exchanges with five universities: Universidad Catolica de Santa Maria (Peru), University of Santo Tomas (the Philippines), Donseo University (Korea), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (Malaysia) and Daffodil International University (Bangladesh). In particular, it was the first time for Wenzao to cooperate with the universities of Peru and Bangladesh; Wenzao will work with them on international internship and international volunteer programs for students. Donseo University of Korea, along with several other Asian universities, has created a distance learning platform known as the Global Access Asia (GAA). Through this platform, participant schools voluntarily provide English-taught courses, such as history and geography, in their own countries to students of other participant schools for free. Currently, there are 5,000 international students registered on the platform. The president of Donseo University of Korea invited President Chou to visit the school next year to observe the operation of the platform, hoping that Wenzao would become a part of the platform as soon as possible.

 
 
 
  

 
 





Photo / Office of International and Cross-strait Cooperation & Public Relations Office




 


 




 President Chou gave remarks in the conference 


President Chou gave souvenir to the Vice President of BFSU, Dr. Yang, Guo-hua












Vice President of BFSU, Dr. Jia, Wen-jian gave a speech in the conference


President chou met with Wenzao’s outbound exchange student, Huang, Hsin-yu











President Chou gave a crystal medal to the President of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Dr. Zhong, Wei-he 
President Chou gave a school flag to the President of University of Santo Tomas, Philippines, Father Herminio Dagohoy after signing the agreement



 


 



President Chou took a photo with the President of Donseo University, Korea, Dr. Chang, Kekuk after signing the agreement
Vice Rector of Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Kamarudin Hussin gave a plate to President Chou after signing the agreement.



 





President Chou took a photo with the CEO of Daffodial International University, Bangladesh, Md. Sabur Khan after signing the agreement.

The participants took a group photo after the opening ceremony.