【Article by OIC】

Funded by Ministry of Education, Prof. Chien-Wu Hsueh, Section Chief of the Mainland Affairs Section, along with Senior Regional Manager Ms. Kelly Wang, at the Office of International Cooperation (OIC), National Chengchi University (NCCU) recently led a group of 14 well-selected NCCU students to attend 2026 International Summer Semester at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) in Seoul, South Korea, as part of its ongoing internationalization and bilingual education initiatives. During this month-long summer program, NCCU students can freely select three courses based on their academic interests from fields like Business & Economy, Social Sciences & Humanities, Computer & Data Science, Engineering, to Korean Language Studies. The courses were taught not only by faculty from SKKU but also by guest professors from renowned international institutions such as the University of South Carolina and Michigan State University, etc.

The initiative highlights the long-standing relationship between NCCU and SKKU, which dates back to 1964 when the two institutions signed their first academic cooperation agreement, making each other mutually their very first partnership in the world. Today, SKKU is ranked 126th globally in the 2026 QS World University Rankings, receives substantial investment from the Samsung Group, and remains one of the top five universities for corporate recruitment in South Korea.

During this trip, Prof. Hsueh and the student group also visited the Taipei Mission in Korea and met with the Director of the Education Division Cheng-Kie Cheng, Secretary Jing-Yi Wong, and Ms. Cheng Han-Fei. The discussion focused on the current status of educational exchange activities between Taiwan and South Korea, as well as English-Medium Instruction (EMI) policies. Director Cheng noted that while the South Korean government actively promotes English education through initiatives like "English Villages," its universities face challenges similar to Taiwan regarding a shortage of qualified EMI faculty. He also shared observations on the competitive nature of early-childhood English education in South Korea, where children as young as 4 years old sometimes need to take competitive entrance examinations to enter private English immersion kindergartens.

In addition to the summer program activities at SKKU, the OIC representatives also visited several other partners in Seoul, including Hanyang University, Seoul National University, and Korea University to discuss ways to strengthen collaborations. At SKKU, discussions focused on faculty exchange mechanism and expanding future cooperation in summer programs. At Hanyang University, the two sides discussed the possibility of co-hosting future summer modules in Taiwan, drawing on Hanyang's previous experience with Japanese and domestic universities. At Seoul National University, both parties expressed a mutual desire to actively encourage joint research projects while at Korea University, the discussion circulate around reviewing incentives to encourage more Korea University students to study in Taiwan, and exploring opportunities for faculty exchange.

Before concluding the trip, the OIC representatives met with NCCU exchange and degree-seeking students currently studying at Yonsei University, Dongguk University, and the University of Seoul to learn about their academic progress and future career plans. The OIC stated that the university will continue to coordinate international resources to provide further learning and research opportunities for NCCU faculty and students.