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| Vice Chancellor Kurt Dirks of Washington University in St. Louis, Director Andrea Yang of the Education Division of TECO in Houston, Taiwan professors and students from Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis University, University of Missouri-St. Louis and Missouri University of Science and Technology celebrated the 2020 Lunar New Year. |
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| University of Houston Taiwan Student Association got together to celebrate the Lunar New Year |
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| Texas A&M University Taiwan Student Association enjoyed the Lantern Festival Celebration Dinner |
Taiwan Student Associations in the Southern U.S. held several celebration events during the Lunar New Year. The Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Houston was invited and delivered important messages to 400 students from 11 universities, including: University of Houston, Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis University, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Sam Houston State University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at San Antonio and Texas A&M University.
Regarding the current outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Director Andrea Yang of the Education Division not only provided advice on measures to protect health and prevent the spread of the outbreak, but called for students’ attention to important updates on the TECO website, the Facebook group, and instant messages via smart phone applications.
The meeting also discussed the increasing incidents of phone fraud. Director Yang emphasized again that when receiving unknown phone calls, students must stay alert, clarify with related departments, and consult with TECO offices or discuss with friends to prevent fraud in advance.
The Ministry of Education’s Yushan (Young) Scholar Program, as well as the Einstein and Columbus Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology were introduced to the students and young scholars. A common goal of these programs is to provideinternationally competitive salaries and benefits for talentsabroad so that their expertise can take root in Taiwan’s academic environment and increase the international impact of Taiwan’s higher education.
The MOE’s 「Taiwan Global Professional and Scholar Networking」﹙Taiwan GPS﹚was also promoted and students and alumni were encouraged to share thoughts and experience with Taiwan youngsters to broaden their horizons, familiarize them with the pros and cons of study abroad, and encourage them to take action.