UH Manoa and Taiwan's National Pingtung University of Science and Technology partner to promote academic exchange

Officials from both universities sign memorandum of understanding

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Kristen Bonilla, (808) 956-5039
External Affairs & University Relations
Miles Hakoda, (808) 956-3093
College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
Posted: May 2, 2006

HONOLULU — The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and Taiwan‘s National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today for the purpose of furthering cooperation in both education and academic research. Through UH Mānoa‘s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), the two institutions will collaborate on various programs under a five-year agreement.

"Our goal at UH Mānoa is to be a real international institution and to establish these types of relationships with institutional partners all over the world," said UH Mānoa Interim Chancellor Denise Konan. "We are delighted to formalize this connection with National Pingtung University of Science and Technology and consider them old friends of Mānoa as they have cooperated with our College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources now for many years. We‘ve enjoyed a great relationship with them."

The agreement between UH Mānoa and NPUST proposes the development of mutually beneficial academic and training programs; the exchange of faculty and staff for purposes of teaching, research and extension; reciprocal assistance for visiting faculty, staff and students; coordination of such activities as joint research and transfer of technology; and the exchange of documentation and research materials in fields of mutual interests.

"Our Department of Tropical Agriculture and International Cooperation is well-established and renowned in Taiwan," said NPUST President Chang-Hung Chou. "We have many similarities with UH Mānoa and this collaboration will enhance our academic activities. We appreciate the opportunities to promote exchange between our university and UH."

The two institutions already have a history of collaboration and scholarly exchange. CTAHR researchers have visited the NPUST campus discussing areas of interest to both institutions, including post-harvest treatments of fruits and vegetables, CTAHR‘s area-wide fruit fly suppression project, plant pathology, and animal waste treatment. In addition, NPUST researchers have visited UH Mānoa to share their knowledge in termite research, ornamentals and flowers, and plant pathology.

"National Pingtung University of Science and Technology has an environment and programs that are very similar to UH and we deal with many similar issues," said CTAHR Dean Andrew Hashimoto. "We‘ve had a good relationship with them and we‘re particularly proud of this collaboration."

UH Mānoa‘s relationship with NPUST has been aided by NPUST‘s Vice President Po-Yung Lai, an alumnus of UH Mānoa and CTAHR‘s former assistant dean for cooperative extension. He is being honored by CTAHR this year with its outstanding alumnus award. Lai earned a master‘s degree in entomology in 1971 and a doctoral degree in entomology in 1977. At NPUST, he has brought into existence the Department of Tropical Agriculture and International Cooperation, creating in less than 10 years a visionary agriculture program that reaches out to foreign students with graduates from more than 30 countries in Asia, the Pacific region, the Americas, and Africa.


ABOUT NATIONAL PINGTUNG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Founded in 1924, Taiwan‘s National Pingtung University of Science and Technology aims to cultivate talents with professional, international and holistic qualities in hopes of becoming an internationally distinguished university. It currently has an undergraduate school that offers baccalaureate degrees and a graduate school that offers master‘s and doctoral degrees in more than 30 disciplines distributed among four colleges—Agriculture, Engineering, Management, and Humanities and Social Sciences. For more information, visit www.npust.edu.tw/english .


ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAIʻI

Established in 1907 and fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the University of Hawaiʻi is the state‘s sole public system of higher education. The UH System provides an array of undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees and community programs on 10 campuses and through educational, training, and research centers across the state. UH enrolls more than 50,000 students from Hawaiʻi, the U.S. mainland, and around the world. For more information, visit www.hawaii.edu .