Auburn faculty visit partners in Taiwan to further world-class research on international stage

In May, a group of eight Auburn faculty members from six colleges and the Libraries traveled to Taiwan to visit and meet representatives from National Cheng Kung University, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences and National Taipei University of Technology.

The delegation, led by Andrew Gillespie, assistant provost for International Programs, aimed to build and strengthen research and education collaborations with current and potential partners in Taiwan.

During the visit, Auburn faculty met with the Ministry of Education to discuss opportunities for receiving more language instructors and interns to help with Mandarin instruction. The delegation also discussed potential collaborations that would send more Auburn graduates to teach in Taiwan, as Taiwan has set a nationwide goal to implement bilingual education by 2032.

Pao-Feng Tsai, professor and associate dean for research in the College of Nursing, said this trip helped the college connect with universities in Taiwan and build relationships for faculty and student exchange. The trip also served as an initial step for recruiting future graduate nursing students.

Tsai expressed that she was encouraged by the impressive use of technology in rehabilitation and geriatric care research in Taiwan. "Potentially, I or our faculty with geriatric or chronic illness expertise can have an extended visit to learn more about their projects and discuss future collaboration opportunities," she said.

The Research and Scholarship Connections Travel Grant is designed to facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations across the globe by utilizing Auburn's most robust international partnerships. By leveraging the Office of International Programs and its resources, faculty can expand their network, gain logistical support and build long-standing relationships to advance world-class research on the international stage.

Attendees like Jamie Harrison, associate professor of english for speakers of other languages, or ESOL, echoed these sentiments. She emphasized that the trip to Taiwan was a great opportunity to meet faculty at Taiwanese universities and better understand their teaching and learning contexts.

As an expert in ESOL education, Harrison was particularly intrigued by the Taiwanese initiative of English Mediated Instruction. She explained that instructors across all academic areas, including math, biology, history, etc., utilize English as the medium of instruction. "This is a huge challenge for faculty and students. Imagine if Auburn decided to make Mandarin or Spanish the language of instruction across campus," she said.

With the world open and hungry to connect and develop solutions to global issues, Auburn can help shape the future through research, scholarship and innovation. The Research and Scholarship Connections Grant is one way that the Office of International Programs, or OIP, helps further that mission.

More information on OIP programs and initiatives.