TNUA President Prof. Yang Chyi Wen received two groups of visitors from Europe in April, one from Leiden University in the Netherlands and another from the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) in Switzerland.
From Leiden were Rector Magnificus and President Prof. Carel J.J.M. Stolker, and Vice President Willem te Beest, who visited on April 14.
From ZHdK were Vice President Prof. Hartmut Wickert and Prof. Daniel Späti, who is in charge of Connecting Space Hong Kong, a transdisciplinary and transcultural project to be launched in August.
The ZHdK guests were at TNUA on April 21 to conduct further talks in preparation for signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cooperation between the two sides.
They were also interviewing applicants for Connecting Space Hong Kong, which will have four openings for TNUA's graduate students. The accepted students will receive subsidies.
For Leiden, TNUA and the Dutch university's Faculty of Humanities already signed an MOU for cooperation in 2013.
Prof. Stolker said they hoped the visit could let them better understand TNUA's educational programs, and their possible connections with Leiden's expertise in different areas.
Prof. Yang pointed out that TNUA's Center for Traditional Arts (CTA) organized a showcase of Taiwan's traditional fabrics and intangible assets in the city of Leiden at the invitation of the Netherlands' International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) two years ago.
TNUA has also invited scholars and experts from Leiden city to give lectures here, Prof. Yang said.