The Taiwan government has been encouraging the internationalization of higher education institution for years. National Taiwan University endeavored to hold this international conference in the final year of Taiwan's term as the host country of UMAP. Through these academic exchanges, NTU has been promoting actively international exchanges among universities and this has raised its recognition and reputation around the world. Moreover, by strengthening academic connections around the Asia-Pacific region and promoting international exchange programs, NTU hopes to cultivate more future leaders with an internationalized vision and gradually develop Taiwan's higher education to a global level .

    At the UMAP Board Meeting, several crucial issues were discussed, such as electing the next UMAP host country for 2007-2008. The International Conference 2006 UMAP was a great success, not only because of the cosponsorship of UMAP National Taiwan Secretariat and the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education (FICHET), but also because of the innovative combined format of students forums and keynote speeches, which illustrated the conference theme, "Education across Borders: Students' Needs vs. Educators' Goals".

     UMAP was established in 1993. Currently, it has a formal membership of twenty countries/territories, including Taiwan, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Japan, Papua New Guinea, Ecuador, Canada, the United States, Cambodia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Fiji, Mongolia, Mexico, Australia, Macau and Samoa.

     UMAP is a voluntary association consisting of governmental and non-governmental representatives of institutions of higher education from around the Asia-Pacific region.

     It aims at enhancing co-operation among these institutes and stimulating exchanges of students and staff among universities, so as to increase and inhance the understanding among peoples from the various cultures and social economic systems of the nations/territories in the Asia-Pacific region. Besides the conference this year, NTU held the UMAP conference in 1993, in which forty-one representatives from eighteen countries participated.