German University, Taiwan NCKU to Beef up Exchanges

Germany's Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus (BTU) and Taiwan's National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) agreed to step up exchange of students and faculty members as well as cooperation in research projects on Dec 9.Prof. Dr. habil. Walther Ch. Zimmerli, president of BTU visited NCKU on Dec. 9 and exchanged views with NCKU President Hwung-Hweng Hwung, Vice President of International Affairs Cheng Hung Huang, and the dean of College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Yonhua Tzeng.President Zimmerli, who was visiting Taiwan for the first time, praised NCKU for being a distinguished university in southern Taiwan and said he looked forward to furthering cooperation with NCKU.

According to Zimmerli, BTU is very selective in choosing partners and NCKU, with its outstanding achievement in engineering education and research, is high on his school's list for cooperation.In 2009, the two universities entered an agreement for a dual degree master program in which electrical and mechanical engineering students can study in both institutions and earn the dual degree in Master of Science.NCKU President Hwung would like to expand the program to include students from other disciplines.Currently the dual degree agreement is signed at the departmental level, said Hwung.We hope to have exchange at the university level.

Yonhua Tzeng, dean of College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science of NCKU, talked about the combined strength of NCKU and the BTU on power engineering. BTU, being a young university of 20 years, has the newest facility and a specialty in environmental engineering and mobile power storage. NCKU's strength, on the other hand, lies in its comprehensive research into different sources of power engineering, as well as in computer science for monitoring power distribution. The cooperation between the two universities promises to yield good results, Tzeng said.Cheng Hung Huang, vice president of NCKU Office of International Affairs, said that NCKU currently has about 10 German students. To encourage international enrollment, NCKU offers free Chinese language courses.

Vice President Huang praised BTU for its success on attracting international students and asked President Zimmerli how best to motivate students to participate in the exchange program.Student exchange presupposes a strong exchange of faculty,said Zimmerli.To attract international faculty, universities must provide dual career opportunities for the faculty and their spouses, and offer strong language programs to participants.Located in Cottbus, the BTU was founded in 1991. The university hosts 6,800 students, 119 professors, and 571 scientific staff. Characterized by internationalism, the BTU's student body includes 986 international students from 92 countries. It aims to achieve 20% in the near future.