Asia University (AU) was commissioned by the Ministry of Education, Taiwan, to establish the "Taiwan Education Center Indonesia" in Surabaya, Indonesia. The Center held its second 2022 "Indonesia-Taiwan Higher Education Exhibition" on October 5-7. It was broadcast live online by Asia University in Taiwan, and 60 Taiwan universities took turns to present their universities to the potential Indonesian students who plan to study in Taiwan. Due to the frequent and active exchanges between Taiwan and Indonesia in recent years, Taiwan has become one of the top five favorite destinations for Indonesian students to study abroad. It is estimated some 21,000 Indonesian students, parents and teachers would participate in this event.

    Dr. Mon-Ch Lio the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Education, was invited to start the event and he pointed out in his opening address that more than 17,000 Indonesian students studied in Taiwan last year, and the Ministry of Education awarded in total 37 Taiwan government scholarships to Indonesian students. Chinese language scholarships are also provided to allow Indonesian students to study Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese culture and society. Both types of scholarships help promote academic and cultural exchanges between Taiwan and Indonesia!

    Professor Jeffrey J.P. Tsai, President of Asia University, observed that Asia University has some 650 international students this year, out of which roughly 180 come from Indonesia, making Indonesia the country with the largest number of international students on AU campus. They have good employment opportunities after returning to Indonesia, and many of them continue their studies or work in Taiwan. It is hoped that through this education exhibition, more Indonesian students will choose to study in Taiwan. Asia University will continue to cooperate with various universities in Taiwan and work diligently for the internationalization of Taiwan's higher education.

    Professor Yinghuei Chen, Dean of AU’s International College, reported that the Taiwan Education Center Indonesia has held education exhibitions every year for consecutive five years. The number of Indonesian students coming to Taiwan has grown steadily from fewer than 10,000 to 17,000 this year. It is the second most popular country after Vietnam for international students to come to Taiwan. The good quality of Taiwan's higher education, low tuition fee and employment opportunities after graduation are among the essential factors that attract Indonesian students to come to Taiwan. AU will continue to play a role in promoting Taiwan’s higher education to Indonesian students in the future.