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Surabaya Taiwan Education Center Opens to Develop Higher Education in Indonesia
Department of International and Cross-strait Education
Contact: Tsai Jui Tel: 02-7736-6175 Email: stsai@mail.moe.gov.tw
To recruit more students from Indonesia to study in Taiwan and promote higher education, Ministry of Education established the Taiwan Education Center in Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia, in September 2017 after establishment of Jakarta Taiwan Education Center in Krida Wacana Christian University (UKRIDA). Asia University was appointed as the organizer.
Surabaya Taiwan Education Center was established in Airangga University. A grand opening ceremony was held in the administration building of Airangga University on the morning of September 12, 2017. The ceremony was hosted by Dr. Mohammad Nasih, President of Airangga University. Deputy Director for Higher Education Cooperation, Indonesia Purwanto Subroto, Deputy Representative of Taipei Economic and Trade Office, Jakarta, Indonesia Phoebe Yeh, Education Secretary Tony Lee, Head of Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Surabaya Jeffrey Hsiao, Vice President of Asia University Ko, Hui-Chen, and Dean of International College, Asia University Chen, Ying-Hui as well as representatives of local 50 colleges or more, community leaders, and Taiwanese businesspeople were invited to attend the ceremony.
Deputy Representative of Taipei Economic and Trade Office, Jakarta, Indonesia Phoebe Yeh first thanked the communities for their full support of Surabaya Taiwan Education Center. The establishment of Surabaya Taiwan Education Center will help promote Taiwan’s quality higher education in East Java, set up Chinese language programs in schools at all levels or institutions in Indonesia, and recruit more Indonesian students to study in Taiwan, further improving bilateral academic exchange between Taiwan and Indonesia.
Deputy Director for Higher Education Cooperation, Indonesia Purwanto Subroto sent the greetings of Director Mohamad Nasir and indicated that both Taiwanese and Indonesian governments have interacted actively in recent years and are currently promoting scholarships, higher education forums, vocational training and industry-academia cooperation. Purwanto Subroto also mentioned that the Indonesian government actively encouraged local colleges to interact with Taiwan and hoped to attract more Taiwanese teachers and students to teach or learn in Indonesia.
In 2016, there were 5,074 Indonesian students studying in Taiwanese college, accounting for 4.36% of the total foreign students and ranked 2nd in new southbound countries. The number continues to grow year by year. Indonesia has a population of 255,000,000, making it the world’s fourth largest population; among the population, there are more than 10 million Chinese people in Indonesia. With the rapid development of society and economy in Indonesia in recent years, domestic colleges have actively recruited Indonesian students, and there is still a lot of room for development of higher education in Indonesia. Ministry of Education has recently strengthened the presence in Indonesia by establishing the Taiwan Education Center combining overseas Chinese communities, Taiwanese businesspeople, and alumni in Taiwan. In the future, the center will become a platform for bilateral academic exchange and provide consultation services for local students. The Taiwan Higher Education Fair has been scheduled in Surabaya and Yogyakarta this December; in addition, the Taiwan-Indonesia College Presidents’ Meeting will be held to help Taiwan develop higher education in Indonesia.