News

2007.1126

QUT Brings Up Potential Education Deals with NTNU

By Jocy Su Campus Reporter Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Vice-Chancellor Peter Coaldrake and Creative Industries Faculty Executive Dean Susan Street's visit to National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) this afternoon elevated and noted a closer connection and relationship between these two universities in the future. "I would love our QUT students to study Mandarin as their second language or even enroll NTNU and study here," Coaldrake said. The vice-chancellor for QUT made his remarks during their meeting with NTNU Vice President Jo Chen (陳瓊花). Coaldrake said that QUT and NTNU do not have any collaboration relationship in terms of academics, however, a potential exchange student program, a dual bachelor's/master's degree program or more collaborative research projects can be expected for the near future. Among the potential cooperation relationship, NTNU's Mandarin Training Center seemed to be the main concern for Coaldrake because being able to master the language will be a great help for QUT students since there are a great number of Mandarin-speaking population in Brisbane, where QUT is located. In response to Coaldrake's inquiry, the center said that its staff members would endorse for their students' performances after they complete courses, as most staff at the center are senior Mandarin instructors and they offer well-organized syllabus every semester. As an executive dean for QUT's Creative Industries Faculty, Street said that she was quite amused by the entire design of the Weekend Flea Market in the underpass that goes through the Hoping East Rd. in front of NTNU main campus'  front gate. "It made an ordinary underpass a center of all kinds of arts.  It also attracts many people, too.  I would affirm the efforts by everybody who participated in the project," Street said. Street said that the Creative Industries Faculty has been promoting the idea to offer designed courses for their students who would seek for a balance between theory and practice, now that more and more big companies would be interested in hiring those who major more than one subjects on the campus these days. "We used to set up the rules for the students, now we should let the students select what they want instead," She said. NTNU Graduate Institute of Performing Arts Associate Professor Jerry Hsia (夏學理) echoed Street's remarks.  He said that the NTNU has already carried a combined course of the real world and the classroom for its students, while NTNU would invite recognized businessmen or remarkable celebrities in their fields to conduct classes and share their field experiences with NTNU students.