Paraguayan students from Taiwan-Paraguay Polytechnic University expressed eagerness to promote Taiwan following a ceremony on Friday to celebrate their completion of three semesters of a Taiwan-based study exchange.
The university, a joint venture between Taiwan and Paraguay, is located in the Paraguayan city of Luque.
At a ceremony held at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech), which hosted the students since March last year, about 100 Paraguayan students celebrated the completion of their exchange program, which involved academic courses, business visits and cultural events that gave them opportunities to learn about Taiwanese values and society.
Civil engineering student Sebastian Estigarribia Romeo said that the key point to take home is that “Taiwan can help.”
“Paraguay is also willing to accept that help, and [we should] let other countries know that Taiwan is capable of helping. Taiwan has a lot to teach to the rest of the world,” he said.
Romeo said that he is looking forward to applying what he has learned from Taiwan’s advanced civil engineering when he graduates in Paraguay in six months.
Milko Gutierrez, a computer science and information engineering student, said a large portion of his studies has been based on programming and artificial intelligence.
“I would love to keep researching about artificial intelligence models. I would love to work in that area in Paraguay, but if there are none, I would love to build one myself,” Gutierrez said.
He said he will highly recommend to his home country’s young people to study at the polytechnic and take the opportunities to engage in the exchange program in Taiwan.
Another computer science student, Abel Ferreira Roig Ocampos, who is a wheelchair user, commended the accessibility of Taipei’s infrastructure, which he said makes traveling easy.
“Especially with the MRT and the buses ... [they are] very well prepared for my wheelchair,” he said. “In my country, it was very difficult for me to go out alone, but here I could very easily.”
Taiwan will hopefully continue to give Paraguayan students opportunities to study in the country, Roig said, adding that he hopes the relationship between the two countries remains strong.
“I, for example, am not 100 percent sure about where I will go for my masters, but maybe I could come back here to Taiwan,” Roig said.
At the ceremony, Taiwan Tech president Yen Jia-yush (顏家鈺) commended the Paraguayan students for undertaking the exchange program, and said he believes that the knowledge and experience they gained in Taiwan will provide advantages in their lives.
“I hope that you will find your dream jobs after graduation, contribute to your country, help build up Paraguay, but don’t forget Taiwan and what we have achieved here together,” Yen said. “I wish you a bright future and everlasting friendship between Taiwan and Paraguay.”
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also attended the ceremony and said it was satisfying to see the talented young students thrive in the study exchange.
“Education has been at the root of Taiwan’s national development. By cultivating outstanding talent in science and technology, Taiwan and Paraguay are sowing the seeds of future growth, prosperity and friendship,” Tsai said.
The first entrance exams at the polytechnic in Paraguay were held in March 2019, with 255 potential students competing for 109 spots, the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan said.
With the aim of cultivating engineering and technological talent in Paraguay, the polytechnic admits about 100 new students annually, with freshman and sophomore classes held in the South American country.
The students’ junior year and the first semester of their senior year are completed in Taiwan, with the first batch of students having arrived last year.
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