Providence University hopes to create an international learning environment for students by encouraging them to study abroad and broaden their horizons, the head of the Greater Taichung school said yesterday.
University president Tang Chuan-yi (唐傳義) said his school is the only one in the nation selected to be a member of the International Student Exchange Programs, a network of more than 300 colleges and universities in 50 countries that works to provide “affordable” education abroad programs to help diversify their student bodies.
The university encourages its students to at some point in their four years at the school participate in one study trip abroad over a summer or winter vacation and to spend one term on a foreign exchange program.
“As a Catholic university, our core value is to care for both local and international [viewpoints],” Tang said.
This means having a sensitivity and awareness of current trends, social issues and social needs as areas of focus to create a high-quality learning environment and produce graduates who are both knowledgeable about their fields and have a sense of ethics, he said.
The university focus for international students is exchange programs rather than admission to a four-year program.
Providence has about 13,000 students, including 1,200 international students, Tang said.
However, the school does not ignore its students who cannot spend time abroad, he said.
The best way to create an international learning environment for undergraduates is to encourage them to interact with the exchange students from various countries on campus, he said.
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