For the purpose of enhancing the quality of university education, assisting local universities to set up teaching centers, and augmenting the professional knowledge of staff members, NTU’s Teaching Development Center of the Office of the Dean of Studies will host the 2nd “International Symposium on Excellence in Teaching and Learning” from November 27^th to 29^th, in the International Conference Room of the Gis Convention Center.

Universities in Taiwan have a problem in common: they put too much emphasis on research while at the same time pay insufficient attention to teaching. In order to rectify this problem, and to fully enhance the quality of university teaching, the Ministry of Education specifically promulgated the “Award Project for Excellence in University Teaching”. All recipients of the subsidies from this award project must set up teaching centers to help teachers upgrade their teaching capability.

For the time being a number of universities are in the process of preparing to set up teaching centers. What they lack is an understanding of the operation experience of teaching centers in advanced countries. NTU undertakes to host this international symposium with a view toward providing a platform for the exchange of experiences both domestically and internationally.

The contents of this symposium encompass the following : Directors of Teaching Centers from six universities in the U.S., U.K, Macau and Hong Kong will introduce their management concepts and their actual practices; professional staff from teaching centers in foreign countries will explain the range of their services, including the development of teachers’ professional skills, the training of teaching assistants, the utilization of technology as teaching aids, and students’ learning consultation. Lastly, superintendents of teaching centers in Taiwan will share their experiences, and discuss the possibility of setting up a nationwide cooperative network.

For details, please go to http://ctld.ntu.edu.tw/rp/2006isetl/