【THE SYMPOSIUM ON RURAL EDUCATION AND REGIONAL REVITALIZATION ISSUES WITH UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN OF MALAYSIA】

by Annie Liu

SUZAKU PIONEER Project and the other USR programs of National Pingtung University collaboratively host an international meeting with the exchange group of Malaysian college, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman(UTAR), during the 10th anniversary celebration of NPTU. In attendance at the meeting was the Vice Chancellor of UTAR, Dr. Goi Bok Min, and the Head of Department of Chinese Studies at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Dr. TOH Teong Chuan. In remarks, the Co-Principle Investigator of SUZAKU PIONEER Project, Professor Lee, shared the journey as well as the productive results of SUZAKU PIONEER Project, and indicated that the visit of UTAR exchange group to Taiwan has no doubt laid the groundwork for further cooperation.

During the meeting, the exchange group of UTAR mentioned about its "New Village Community Project", which possessed great resemblance to the USR programs of NPTU. Their programs and initiatives cover a diverse spectrum of activities, rooted in its core values and reflected in its voluntary services in support of the people and the community. UTAR initiated 'New Village Community Project' in 2009 which aims to create opportunities for college students to mingle, interact and work with the new village communities. Most of the new villages in Malaysia are aging and lack of job opportunities for the villagers, as well as deficiency of education resources for children. Therefore, the university endeavour to cultivate the community and contribute to the holistic growth of the new villages among its students by engaging them in the project. 

This year, the bilateral ties between UTAR and SUZAKU PIONEER Project are growing closer in both the exchanging activities and academic cooperation. UTAR students came to Taiwan to participate in the 'Yingxi Academy Learning Summer Camp' during the days in July, bilaterally, SUZAKU PIONEER Project Team flied to Malaysia to join the overseas research projects for rural education during October. Professor Lee, the Co-Principle Investigator of SUZAKU PIONEER Project, looks forward to working together with UTAR to spur exchanges between UTAR and NPTU across fields, strengthen the partnership and contribute to the prosperity and sustainability of rural education.

Meanwhile, after the delightful meeting, the team of NPTU invited UTAR members to visit the VAR center and took a tour guide in the Shengli Star Village, which full of well-preserved historical Japanese buildings and recently regenerated as a cultural industrial park for Pingtung people. The teams believed that bringing the talks outside of the conference room can greatly allow our Malaysian guests to own more experience and impression of Pingtung.