Faced with sliding international rankings and deteriorating competitiveness, National Taiwan University (NTU) president-elect Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) is proposing that the university “internationalize” by offering students more exchange and international dual-degree programs.
His strategy is not simply aimed at improving ranking or securing more funding, but at remolding some of the university’s core values that he believes are holding students back, Kuan said.
“Taiwan’s problem has been thinking that it knows everything,” which does not work in an increasingly globalized world, Kuan said.
Therefore, the first thing NTU should do is to “hang onto something,” or it would run the risk of “falling from a cliff,” he added.
To accomplish this, NTU needs to partner with renowned international universities, Kuan said, adding that the education offered at these institutions would equip NTU students with the skills they need to actively discover problems and solve them.
This means more exchange opportunities and more dual-degree programs with overseas universities so that NTU students have the chance to venture outside their campus in Taipei, he said.
The university is to also provide financial aid to students who need it to take advantage of such opportunities, Kuan said.
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