Dr. Jung Uck Seo, the Chairman of Korea Accreditation Board, accompanied by NCKU Senior Executive Vice-President Da-Hsuan Feng, Prof. Chin-Cheng Chen of Department of Chemical Engineering and Prof. Shean-Jen Chen of Department of Engineering Science, has visited President Michael Ming-Chiao Lai of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Tainan, Taiwan, exchanging thoughts on the conditions of higher education and hoping to promote faculty exchange in the future.
This is the first time Dr. Jung Uck Seo visited Tainan, and he has visited Taipei, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung many times before, maintaining a close relationship with Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology and normally going around the industry site.
As President Michael Ming-Chiao Lai asked about the academic and research organizations in Korea, Dr. Jung Uck Seo expressed, “In Korea, we have group organizations of scholars or engineers. We also have branches of science, medicine and liberal arts. We currently have a big task to perform, which is to reorganize government funded organizations and to improve government funded research institutes. It is easy to say, but in practice, many things are tangled.”
In response to Vice-President Da-Hsuan Feng’s inquiry about the status of higher education in Korea, Dr. Jung Uck Seo replied, “We have to restructure our higher education system. Korea has been very successful in birth control, but we fail in production.”
Vice-President Da-Hsuan Feng said, “One of the biggest problems in the NCKU department is finding jobs for students because schools are closing classes. There’re not enough students participating. Thus, it’s hard to find positions for teachers.”
President Lai further explained, “Education has changed everywhere in the world. Twenty years ago, we have 400,000 kids every year. But now, we only have 200,000 babies. Particularly in the last six years or so, birth rate has dropped by one-third. For instance, there used to be a big elementary school in Taipei, having a student population of 12,000. Now, the student population is only 700.”
Prof. Shean-Jen Chen added, “Tainan has the same problem, especially the countryside. Parents usually send their children to new schools with young teachers and new equipments.”
Lastly, Dr. Jung Uck Seo stated, “People’s exchange is very important in the 21st century. It’s not far from Seoul to Taiwan, so we have many opportunities for cooperation in the future.”
Dr. Jung Uck Seo received his bachelor degree of Electrical Engineering from Seoul National University in 1957, doctoral degree of Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University, U.S., in 1969, honorary doctoral degree of Economics from Pukyong National University, Korea, in 1999, and honorary doctoral degree of Engineering from Chonnam National University, Korea, in 2006.
He is the Chairman of the e-Trade Facilitation Committee of the Korea International Trade Association, Professor Emeritus of the ROK Air Force Academy, Chair Professor of the Sunchon National University, Distinguished Visiting Professor of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, and Adjunct Professor of the Seoul School of Integrated Science & Technologies.
source: www.kansascity.com
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