Visit by Adam Mickiewicz University Offers New Cooperation Opportunities
A delegation from the Faculty of Political Science and Journalism at Adam Mickiewicz University (AMU) visited National Taiwan Normal University on 26 June to explore the possibility of future academic cooperation between the two universities. Prof. dr. hab. Andrzej Stelmach, Dean of the Faculty of Political Science and Journalism, and Prof. dr. hab. Tomasz R. Szymczyński, Head of the Asian Studies Science Circle met with NTNU Executive Vice President Frank Ying and Vice President for International Affairs Yi-De Liu.
Adam Mickiewicz University is one of the top three comprehensive universities in Poland and is part of the European Union's Erasmus Mundus program. Well known for its foreign language teaching and research, this university is often referred to as the Polish Foreign Language University, with 80% of its faculty across several faculties teaching 10% of all courses in English. In addition, the city of Poznań in which the university is located has the highest concentration of Taiwanese residents in Poland.
Due to its geographic proximity to Ukraine, AMU has provided scholarships and special programs for Ukrainian students and researchers so that their studies and career can continue. AMU has organized material aid to Ukrainian universities and provides practical assistance for Ukrainian refugees in Poland such as free Polish language courses. More than a year into the Russian invasion, AMU is still actively holding events on campus to show solidarity with Ukraine. Information about Taiwan scholarships for Ukrainian students can also be found on AMU’s school website.
NTNU's current partner universities in Poland include University of Warsaw, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, and Nicolaus Copernicus University; it looks forward to cooperating with AMU and promoting good relations between the two universities. The two delegates extended an invitation for NTNU to participate in an upcoming conference, scheduled for 8-9 December 2023 by AMU’s Faculty of Political Science and Journalism, entitled 'Beyond Europe: Challenges and Opportunities for a Resilient Region.” The theme is designed to be encompass a wide range of subjects. While they do not rule out online collaborations, Dr. Szymczyński explained, he still finds in-person exchanges to be more beneficial than online exchanges. Therefore, AMU hopes that NTNU will be able to visit Poznań in the not-so-distant future. In the meantime, the visiting delegation hopes that the two universities can carry out small initiatives such as joint workshops or seminars.
During the visit, Dr. Liu also introduced the current state of teaching and learning at NTNU, which led to active exchanges and discussions between the two sides. NTNU is now actively implementing its plans as a Ministry of Education-designated Bilingual Benchmark University with up to about 12% of all NTNU courses (and 62% of NTNU graduate programs) being taught in English. The two universities agreed on possible academic cooperation via future seminars. In addition, short-term internships and student exchange programs on a consistent basis are also being explored.