About FICHET
History
On November 9, 2000, the Review Committee on International Academic Exchange in the Ministry of Education convened its third meeting with four-fold aims: (1) improving the international competitiveness of Taiwan’s higher education sector; (2) pooling the resources of universities and colleges in Taiwan; (3) leveraging Taiwan’s advantages in academic and scientific research; and (4) breaking new ground in transnational and transdisciplinary cooperation in education. This meeting covered coordinated action among Taiwan’s colleges and universities to promote international academic exchange, and produced a resolution to establish a preparatory committee to be chaired by Horng-Jinh Chang, President of Tamkang University, to bring together representatives from Taiwan’s universities and colleges and other relevant stakeholders to address issues concerning the establishment of an iconic organization for international academic cooperation.
Against this background, since 2002 the participating experts and scholars have brainstormed constructive ideas. Through years of meticulous planning, the preparatory committee eventually decided to establish the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan (FICHET), dedicated to the promotion of international academic cooperation.
Funded by the Ministry of Education and more than 100 universities and colleges in Taiwan, FICHET was formally incorporated November 2005, and began operations in January 2006. Currently, the FICHET represents a total of 116 permanent member universities and colleges.
Goals
Taiwan has four major higher education organizations, including the Association of National Universities of Taiwan, the Association of National Universities of Science and Technology of Taiwan, the Association of Private Universities and Colleges of Taiwan, and the Association of Private Universities and Colleges of Technology in Taiwan. FICHET aims to promote international cooperation in higher education by integrating the functions of these four associations. Our scope of services is as follows:
- Assisting universities and colleges in Taiwan with international exchange and cooperation affairs
- Organizing international conferences on higher education
- Organizing overseas education fairs and increasing international student enrollment
- Accepting commissions for facilitating international cooperation
- Encouraging international academic and cultural research on Taiwan
- Facilitating cross-strait educational exchange
- Facilitating and promoting Mandarin Education in Taiwan
- Other educational and public welfare activities and affairs in line with FICHET’s organizational goals