The British Council s work in facilitating international collaboration between UK and Taiwan universities 22 March 2012 Alison Devine MBE British Council Taipei
The British Council is the UK's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. The British Council facilitates the collaboration of higher education sectors around the world, encouraging interaction and the exchange of knowledge and ideas via the following areas of work: Policy Dialogue Knowledge Economy and Partnerships Student Mobility English for Internationalisation Education Intelligence
Policy Dialogue Policy dialogue takes place through a series of conferences, workshops and roundtable discussions for policy makers and practitioners from around the world to discuss issues facing the international education community. The British Council Taipei has been facilitating Taiwan s participation in Going Global, one of the largest international education conferences in the world for policy makers and practitioners in international education to exchange views and ideas. Going Global 2008 Taiwan Top University Presidents Delegation to the UK Going Global 2010 East Asia Inward Mission to the UK Going Global 2011 East Asia Pre-conference Session Going Global 2012 Taiwan Top University Deans of International Office Delegation to the UK
Going Global 2008 Institutions visited Imperial College London King s College London Oxford University University College London London School of Economics and Political Science Participation in Going Global Conference Professor Ovid Tzeng, Academia Sinica Developing successful international university strategies
Going Global University Visit
Going Global 2010 Institutions visited Aston University Brunel University Exeter University King s College London Institute of Education Oxford University Participation in Going Global 2010 Pre-conference East Asia roundtable discussions on the following topics: Equity and relevance: how can universities ensure diversity in international partnership strategies? Internationalisation strategy and policy - the roles of governments, universities and industry Research collaborations and joint programme development Quality assurance in the globalisation of higher education
Representatives from East Asia at Going Global 2010 Chair: Michael Worton Hong Kong Indonesia Japan Korea Malaysia Singapore Taiwan Thailand Vietnam
Going Global 2011 Participation in Going Global 2011 East Asia Pre-conference Session: Partnerships across borders Professor Si-Chen Lee, National Taiwan University Asia Universities at the global crossroad
Going Global 2012 Institutions visited Imperial College London King s College London Queen Mary University Royal Holloway University Universities UK Participating institutions/organisations BICER, MoE FICHET National Central University National Chiao Tung University National Cheng Kung University National Chung Hsing University National Sun Yat-sen University National Taiwan University National Taiwan University of Science and Technology National Tsing Hua University National Yang-Ming University
Knowledge Economy and Partnerships Knowledge economy and partnerships focuses on establishing links between UK institutions and their counterparts around the world in research and teaching. Delegation to the UK by the Deans of Research and Development from Taiwan s Top Universities in 2010 provided delegates with opportunities to build understanding of the UK s various centres of excellence and potential options available for partnership models. Subject focused research workshops in 2011 hosted by National Cheng Kung University (smart community, biomedical engineering), National Central University (green energy, environmental technology, optoelectronics) and National Taiwan University (cancer, metabolomics, neuroscience), expected to lead to further collaborations between Taiwan and UK HEIs.
Deans of Research & Development Delegation to the UK 2010 Institutions visited University of Bath University of Edinburgh University of Glasgow Imperial College London King s College London University of Southampton University College London Research Councils UK Universities UK Higher Education Funding Council for England UK-Taiwan Research Collaboration Forum
Student Mobility Student mobility encourages both the inward flow of international students into the UK as well as the outward flow of UK students to other countries so as to facilitate the exchange of ideas, knowledge and culture. Information provision on studying in the UK, printed and online Presentations at the British Council Outreach presentations at university campuses Education UK exhibitions Training for education agents UK Alumni network UK Taiwan Higher Education Conference 2007 and 2008 EU Taiwan Higher Education Conference 2009, 2010, 2011 UK Taiwan Higher Education Day in 2010 and 2011
Taiwan-UK and Taiwan-Europe Higher Education Conferences 2007-2011 Maximised opportunities around the large number of UK representatives visiting Taiwan for Education UK exhibitions. Two Taiwan-UK HE Conferences were jointly initiated by the British Council and BICER, MoE in 2007 and 2008, in partnership with FICHET, National Taiwan University and Tung Hai University. In 2009, the European Education Fair Taiwan introduced an expanded event in partnership with FICHET, and took the Taiwan-Europe Higher Education Conference to National Sun Yat-sen University, Fu Jen University and Tamkang University.
Speed dating / matchmaking sessions During these conferences, speed dating / matchmaking sessions were arranged for participants to have face-to-face discussions with their counterparts to improve mutual understanding. Through the 20-minute speed dating sessions, university representatives were able to identify shared interests in both teaching and research so as to explore the potential for collaboration. Since 2007, these events have brought hundreds of UK/European and Taiwanese university representatives together to provide opportunities to establish institutional collaborations and partnerships.
English for Internationalisation The British Council also facilitates local higher education institutions in building capacity in English proficiency at all levels through consultancy projects. The Internationalisation Consultancy Project aims to provide local universities with specialist advice and detailed implementation plans to help them move towards internationalisation through detailed studies on readiness in English across the curriculum (EAC).
Education Intelligence - Global Education intelligence aims to provide accurate analysis of underlying trends pertinent to the internationalisation of education. Reports are available for purchase under the following headings: Global Gauge, Student Insight, Country Brief, Student Mobility, Partnership Access Further information is available at: ihe.britishcouncil.org/educationintelligence
Education Intelligence - in Taiwan we provide For UK institutions Information on local institutions Advice on local education systems and entry requirements Updates on Taiwan: economy, education and major political/social developments For Taiwan institutions Information on UK institutions Advice on UK education systems and entry requirements
Key UK Organisations Universities UK (UUK) The representative organisation for the UK s universities www.universitiesuk.ac.uk Research Councils UK (RCUK) The strategic partnership of the UK's seven Research Councils: Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Medical Research Council (MRC) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Science and Technology Facilities Council www.rcuk.ac.uk
Key UK Organisations British Universities' International Liaison Association (BUILA) A membership-led organisation for staff in HEI's who are concerned with international work - primarily the recruitment of international (i.e. non- EU) students on programmes of higher study in the UK www.buila.ac.uk UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) The UK s national advisory body serving the interests of international students and those who work with them www.ukcisa.org.uk
Recommendations Understand your UK counterparts Type of institution (research-led, red brick, teaching-led, ex-polytechnic) Areas of strength (subject focused, teaching and research assessment) Administrative structure (workflow, decision making journey) Staff capacity and professional background (full-time employees with business background versus academics with assigned role in international operations) Be specific about scope of collaboration Type of collaboration (articulation programmes, student exchange, staff exchange, joint research) Support available within the institution (other administration departments, faculties) Understanding of regulations where applicable
Next steps The British Council Taipei is your point of contact should you wish to collaborate with UK institutions or if you would like advice on working with UK education sectors. www.britishcouncil.org.tw EducationUK@britishcouncil.org.tw