Following many months of negotiation, planning and coordination, the moment had arrived and the final version of the Memorandum of Understanding on the International Education and Research Center (IERC) was in the hands of NPUST, RMUTT, IPB and UB representatives, ready for signature.
On Saturday, November 28 at 2:00 pm the ceremony began, via conference call. As the meeting commenced, NPUST Vice-President Shui-Jen Chen welcomed executives from the three distinguished Southeast Asian universities and members of the Thailand Representative Office on behalf of the President Chang-Hsien Tai, who was to arrive shortly. Dr. Pomin Li, the dean of the NPUST Office of International Affairs, then addressed the assembly—thanking the members for their participation and emphasizing the common interests that serve as the basis for the new Center.
In his remarks, Dr. Sommai, the President of Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi (RMUTT), stated that RMUTT was honored to serve as the host of the IERC, and that through the Center, better collaboration, expanded relationships and new levels of cooperation would take place – in academic, governmental and business sectors, alike. “The signing of the MOU”, he said, “marks a substantial commitment to work together, reach common goals and bear fruit in such areas as student exchange and SDG activities”.
Before the actual signing took place, a number of presenters were called to highlight some of the areas of intended cooperation and development. After this, a few brief statements were made before the presidents of each of the four universities put their signatures to Memorandum of Understanding and presented the signed document for everyone to see.
Following the signing, NPUST President Chang-Hsien Tai addressed everyone— extending his greetings and commenting on the processes. He expressed that “the universities involved have many common features and shared goals; and we hope that through this new Center we can enjoy more solid cooperation”. After returning to Taiwan from his last trip to Indonesia, President Tai began organizing the conference. However, because of the pandemic, the plans changed and it had to be moved online. Looking forward, President Tai closed by stating that “things will hopefully go back to normal next year and you will all be able to come and visit us, so that we can work together on practical projects which will be good for humanity.”
In a final word the Rector of IPB, Dr. Arif Satria, extended his gratitude the President of NPUST, the Rector of RMUTT and the President of UB. “The IERC” he stated, “is not a simple process”. In order to effectively complete the task, “cooperation and building of trust” are very important. Following a few more brief comments and friendly exchanges, the signing ceremony was brought to a close with a sensation that a new milestone had successfully been reached, and an anticipation for many more to follow.
