2021.11.1
Press Release No. 005
Pennsylvania State University (PSU) and National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the two universities and a collaboration agreement for the “Taiwan Huayu BEST program” on November 1, 2021, making PSU the first public university in the eastern United States to collaborate with a university in Taiwan for the program. Ambassador James K. J. Lee of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York and Dr. Tanya Garcia, Deputy Secretary and Commissioner for Postsecondary and Higher Education at the Pennsylvania Department of Education, as well as Pennsylvania State Senator Gene Yaw and Representative David Rowe, all participated in the signing ceremony to witness the commencement of this collaboration.
The Memorandum of Understanding between PSU and NTNU was jointly signed by PSU President Eric J. Barron and NTNU President Cheng-Chih Wu, while the Collaboration Agreement for Taiwan Huayu BEST Program between the two universities was signed by PSU Vice Provost for Global Programs Roger Brindley and NTNU Vice President for International Affairs Chun-Chi Lin.
This collaboration aims to promote Chinese language instruction and learning through academic cooperation and visiting scholar and student exchanges. NTNU will assist PSU in establishing their Chinese language center, and it will send two Chinese language instructors on exchange to PSU annually to promote the TOCFL Chinese language proficiency tests and Taiwanese culture. Moreover, PSU students who receive the Taiwan Huayu BEST Program Long-Term Study Scholarship will go to NTNU for in-depth Chinese language study and to provide English language tutorials to local elementary schools in New Taipei City under the “Hand-in-Hand International Companion Program,” in accordance with Taiwan's “2030 Bilingual Nation Policy.”
In his opening remarks, Ambassador James K. J. Lee mentioned that the United States and Taiwan launched the “U.S.-Taiwan Education Initiative” last December, which emphasizes Taiwan’s critical role in providing Mandarin language instruction while safeguarding academic freedom. This mutually beneficial collaboration helps provide PSU and other universities with valuable Mandarin learning resources.
NTNU President Cheng-Chih Wu stated that NTNU and PSU have already enjoyed close partnerships for many years in areas such as research, teaching, and administration. The Taiwan Huayu BEST program builds on this foundation and marks a new milestone in the relationship between the two universities. NTNU's world-renowned reputation in Chinese language learning and its innovative digital tools will benefit PSU through collaboration with the NTNU Overseas Mandarin Training Center.
Founded in 1855, Pennsylvania State University is one of the ten largest public universities in the United States and has been dubbed a “Public Ivy” due to its outstanding academic reputation. PSU and NTNU established their sister university partnership in 1983.
As a result of NTNU’s solid expertise in the fundamentals of Chinese language learning, it was awarded the Taiwan Huayu Best Program this year by the Ministry of Education, in line with the government’s plan for the global Chinese language learning market. In the program’s first year, NTNU has successfully commenced various Chinese language programs with Pennsylvania State University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Group photo of attendees of the virtual signing ceremony.
