Six Indonesian Universities Allied with SCU, Become Sister Schools

In response to the government’s New Southbound Policy, Soochow University signed sister school agreements with six Indonesian universities while welcoming the historical visit by 24 university presidents from Indonesia who arrived at SCU campus on December 11, 2017. SCU vice president Bau-Tscheng Dung received the delegation led by Dr. Lincoln Arsyad, the chairperson of Council of Higher Education and Research and Development of Muhammadiyah Central Executive Board, and vowed to strive for more academic exchange and educational partnership with the emerging Southeast Asian market.

The delegation first toured SCU’s Chinese Language Center, with eight Indonesian students of SCU introducing the landscape and the buildings at Waishuangsi Campus in their mother tongue, which made the visitors feel more familiar and comfortable. Their next stop was the Tomorrow Hub, which cultivates SCU students’ creativities, as the guests experienced the newest application of AR technology. The Indonesian delegation later visited Song-Yi Hall, SCU’s artistically grandiose auditorium, and enjoyed music performed by the students from the Department of Music.

The vice president Dong said that SCU is the oldest private university in Taiwan that has nurtured global visions in student and laid equal emphasis on the five aspects of education. In addition, SCU has alliance with over 270 universities around the world as sister schools, offering numerous short-term exchanges, joint dual-degree programs, seminars, and other multilateral cooperation. Despite the short visit of the Indonesian university presidents, it has laid foundation for more and deeper cooperation in the future.

Six Indonesian universities signed an agreement to become sister schools with SCU in a ceremony held by the Ministry of Education. They are are Universitas Muhammadiyah Ponorogo, Universitas Muhammadiyah Sidoarjo, Universitas Muhammadiyah Metro, Universitas Muhammadiyah, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya and Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara.