The annual Asia-Pacific Association for International Education Conference and Exhibition 2017 officially kicked off March 21 in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City, featuring 240 booths and bringing together more than 1,600 participants from 52 countries in the Asia-Pacific as well as the U.S. and Europe to take part in one of the largest education events in the world.
The three-day APAIE conference, titled “New Era, New Horizon, New Frontier: Higher Education in Asia Pacific,” is being held in the southern city in line with the government’s New Southbound Policy. Education officials, international corporate managers and representatives from several of the program’s target countries will be in attendance, including delegations from 20 universities in Indonesia and Thailand.
The New Southbound Policy is a central plank of President Tsai Ing-wen’s national development strategy. Under the initiative, the government is working to deepen agricultural, business, cultural, education, trade and tourism links with Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, six South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand.
Speaking at the APAIE opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Education Yao Leehter said that cultivating students’ global perspectives is imperative and a major priority for local tertiary institutions. “This annual conference provides educators from around the world with an important platform for exchanges and Taiwan should continue to expand and deepen the internationalization of its education system.”
Led by Kaohsiung’s National Sun Yat-sen University in coordination with four other universities, the conference includes seminars and workshops addressing concepts such as globalization and corresponding strategies; student mobility and support services; and digital media innovations in international higher education.
Four booths have been set up by local entities, including the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan, which is spearheading an initiative involving 24 local universities to attract overseas students to Taiwan.
In addition to the conference, participants will be able to take part in campus tours at universities around the nation such as NSYSU, Kaohsiung Medical University, National Cheng Kung University and National Chung Cheng University in southern Taiwan’s Tainan City and Chiayi County, respectively, as well as National Chung Hsing University in central Taiwan’s Taichung City.
Founded by Korea University in 2005, the nonprofit APAIE aims to promote the internationalization of higher education in the Asia-Pacific region as well as provide an exchange and learning platform for educators. The APAIE conference and exhibition is considered one of the three largest education events in the world. (KWS-E)
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