University of Maryland President Wallace Loh is extending his Asia strategy with an innovation tour of Taiwan and South Korea – his third trip to the region since taking office in 2010. Through high-level meetings, Loh is laying the groundwork for new research and educational partnerships .

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Space Remote Sensing Research

Our final stop in Taiwan, National Central University (NCU), proved especially productive, with an offer of five summer scholarships. We also got a close look at NCU's Center for Space Remote Sensing Research, a potential partner and a good match for our own advanced work in this field.

NCU Interim President Dr. Joseph S. Lee greeted us with an extra helping of the "Taiwan Hospitality" that makes travel in this country so gracious. Accompanying me was UMD Physics Professor Chuan Sheng Liu, who at one time served as NCU's president. In our meetings, President Lee and his team shared concrete proposals:

• A dual-degree, two-year Executive MBA program, with classes at UMD for one and at NCU for the other. We'll study Dr. Lee's specific proposal and respond in coming weeks.
• Five scholarships, including expenses, for UMD undergraduate or graduate students to take part in a Chinese Language and Culture course this August at NCU. We've accepted this gracious offer, and are already working to make arrangements.

Later, at the university's Center for Space Remote Sensing Research, we saw live Asian satellite images - tools with extensive research applications in fields such as global change. Also, the center has developed advanced software that allows users to imagine space allocation and urban design, for example. UMD geographers are doing similar work, and we will explore the potential for research collaboration.

A Productive Visit

Our short time in Taiwan has been exceptionally productive and exceeded expectations. The connections we established will surely strengthen our considerable ties here.

• We depart Taiwan with formal collaboration agreements with the nation's biggest science research park, the Tatung company, and two of the nation's most prestigious universities.
• We laid the groundwork for future formal ties with three other top Taiwan universities, and sketched out plans for expanding our collaboration with two others.
• At many of my stops, I've discussed the possibility of an international business plan competition involving Taiwanese and Maryland students - similar to arrangements we have with Israel and China. Interest in such a competition is quite high, and I received encouragement from President Ma. But this will require more negotiations when we return.
• We had very cordial, productive meetings with President Ma and Minister of Education Chiang.

Throughout, our informal talks pulsed with energy, and I have no doubt that these collaborations will translate into exchanges of research, faculty and students that will benefit Maryland and Taiwan economically, educationally and culturally.

Seoul

It was already getting dark in downtown Seoul when we arrived - just enough time to prepare for tomorrow's meetings with trade, industry, and educational officials.