[Academics] Taiwan Needs to Focus More on University Museums: Official

[Academics] Taiwan Needs to Focus More on University Museums: Official (Chinese Version)

CNA - Focus Taiwan (2012/11/20) Taiwanese universities should step up efforts to build museums on campus to enhance students' learning experience, a Cabinet official said November 20.

The function of a university museum is not only to teach but also to provide opportunities for students to experiment in certain areas, Minister without Portfolio Kuang-nan HUANG said at an international symposium on global collaboration among university museums.

In his speech, HUANG highlighted the importance of a university museum. Open to the public, a university museum has the same functions of a typical museum but is also an institution of higher education, he said.

Organized by Taichung-based Asia University, the one-day event was attended by speakers from Taiwan, the United States, Britain and Japan to share their views on university museums. Asia University is set to open an art museum on its campus next year.

Vice Education Minister Der-hwa CHEN, who also attended the event, expressed hope that the symposium will help local universities learn more about their foreign counterparts in the field.

According to HUANG, there are over 20 university museums on university and college campuses in Taiwan, but they face a number of challenges.

The most notable is their inability to communicate universities' research achievements as effectively as museums on American university campuses, in large part because only a limited number of people visit them, he said.


Further Information:
CNA - Focus Taiwan 2012/11/20

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Science Council International Cooperation Sci-Tech Newsbrief
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------