President Ma Ying-jeou attended the 2013 National Conference of University and College Presidents at Fo Guang University on the morning of January 14. In addition to recognizing the contributions made to education by the school presidents and other guests attending the conference, the president also expressed his hopes that participants at the conference will be able to pool their expertise to create a comprehensive vision for higher education. This, he said, will help Taiwan's educational institutions to develop to new levels.
In remarks, President Ma noted that the theme of this year's conference is "A Critical 10 Years; Transformation of Higher Education." The president reminded the participants that the Golden Decade blueprint he unveiled two years ago included a vision for "high-quality culture and education." This vision complements the theme of this year's conference, he said. President Ma stated that the "high-quality culture and education" vision includes two main pillars, namely "culture and creativity" and "educational reform." The phenomenon of "culture and creativity," the president said, is a unique result of the blending of Taiwan culture with traditional Chinese culture and Taiwan's atmosphere of freedom and democracy. In the area of "educational reform," President Ma said the goals are "to continue raising the quality of higher education" and "make Taiwan a leader in East Asian higher education."
President Ma stated that the Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013 compiled by the World Economic Forum ranked Taiwan 13th globally, with Taiwan coming in ninth in the world in the area of "higher education and training." Meanwhile, the 2012 Knowledge Economy Index released by the World Bank ranked Taiwan 13th in the world and first in Asia, ahead of Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore, he said. This indicates that Taiwan possesses significant strengths in many areas, the president added.
The president also praised the Ministry of Education's Aim for the Top University Project and the Program for Promoting Teaching Excellence of Universities, which he said have yielded significant achievements. These two initiatives, he added, have effectively enhanced Taiwan's international competitiveness in higher education. Furthermore, the president expressed his hopes that cooperation between industry and academia will be bolstered, thereby helping universities and colleges to cultivate graduates with the skills needed in the work world.
President Ma expressed his belief that there are presently three major hurdles being faced in the supply of skilled labor here. First, the abilities of teachers in their respective areas of expertise need to be strengthened. Second, the makeup of the student bodies at colleges and universities is changing rapidly. And third, students' global mobility needs to be enhanced.
The president furthermore explained that in the 1991 academic year, the number of graduates from colleges stood at 81,683, while the number of university graduates that year came to 54,375 individuals. In the 2010 academic year, the number of college graduates fell to 20,463, while the number of university graduates increased to 228,878, he said. The makeup of the student bodies in these institutions has thus undergone an enormous and rapid change, he noted, adding that there is a shortage in the labor market of persons with basic and intermediate technical abilities. In addition, during the 2002 academic year, there were only 1,904 Ph.D. courses being offered throughout Taiwan, compared with 3,326 in the 2011 academic year, he said. This rapid increase has compromised the quality and quantity of instructors, along with the abilities of students, thus triggering concerns among the public at large, he stated. What's more, the president said, Taiwan's falling birth rate has caused a shortage of students at all levels. He pointed out that the shortage will be clearly felt at the university level for the first time in the 2016 academic year.
In discussing the internationalization of Taiwan's universities and the insufficiency of students' global mobility, President Ma stated that even though the quality of Taiwan's higher education is quite good, the foreign language abilities of local university students still need to be improved. In addition, studying overseas is less popular than in the past, he said. For instance, by 2012, the number of Taiwan students studying in the United States had fallen to 24,818, versus 157,558 mainland Chinese students, 103,895 Indian students, and 73,351 Korean students studying there. This trend, he said, showed a possible shortfall in the pool of skilled talent that has been trained overseas.
Looking to the future, President Ma stressed that the government is currently planning and implementing three strategies. First, the government is looking at recognizing the degrees issued by schools that are part of mainland China's Project 211, which aims to strengthen 100 key universities and colleges for the 21st century. Taiwan, he said, is also actively recruiting mainland Chinese college students to further their studies at two-year technical colleges here. The president remarked that this will help to further enhance the competitiveness of Taiwan's higher education and bolster cooperative opportunities. Second, the president discussed his recent visit to Porite Taiwan Co., Ltd., located in Miaoli County, to make a point. He said that the company many years ago began cooperating with universities and arranged for its senior executives to teach tailored-made courses. These efforts not only resulted in the development of the world's best oil-impregnated bearings for micro-motors, but also created a model for cooperation between industry and academia, he stated. President Ma also mentioned that the National Science Council, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the Ministry of Education have launched two related industry-academia alliance projects to narrow the gap between theory, training, and practical application. The president also mentioned that the Ministry of Education has also assembled scholars, experts, and individuals from the industrial sector to form the "Talent Cultivation Steering Committee." Public hearings are being held to forge communication and gather a broad range of public opinion, he said. The committee, he stated, will produce a white paper on talent cultivation in May of this year that will serve as the strategic blueprint for cultivating competitive skilled labor here.
Among those attending the conference were Minister of Education Chiang Wei-ling (蔣偉寧), Fo Guang University founder Master Hsing Yun (星雲大師), President Chaur Shin Yung (楊朝祥) of the Fo Guang University, Chancellor Ovid J. L. Tzeng (曾志朗) of the University System of Taiwan, Chancellor Wu Ching-ji (吳清基) of the Taiwan University of Education, Chairman Se Hwa Wu (吳思華) of the Association of National Universities of Taiwan, Chairman Ting-Ming Lai (賴鼎銘) of the Association of Private Universities and Colleges, Chairman Shi-Shuenn Chen (陳希舜) of the Association of National Universities of Science and Technology of Taiwan, Chairman Yuan-Hsiang Chu (朱元祥) of the Association of Private Universities and Colleges of Technology, and Chairman Wen-kang Chen (陳文貴) of the Education Association of Junior Colleges.