In yet another unprecedented move to promote the economic development of Catanduanes, Governor Joseph Cua and Catanduanes State University President Dr. Patrick Alain Azanza met investors and officials of two universities in Taiwan to discuss the potentials of the soon-to-be opened CatSU Economic Zones in its Virac and Panganiban campuses.
The two officials spent personal funds for the private trip in lieu of an official visit, with the trip rushed to accommodate the availability of the Taiwanese counterparts.
Both Gov. Cua and Dr. Azanza were very much delighted as they were met by a number of highly interested investors led by a prominent leader of the country, Huang Ta-chou, a former mayor of the capital city of Taipei who served as Chairman of Taipei Olympic Committee.
The CatSU present signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with top public universities of Taiwan that would pave the way for academic exchange for faculty and students; on-the-job trainings for CatSU students with pay; research collaboration; and joint capacity development initiatives.
“This joint effort by the PLGU and CatSU is primarily for the Catandunganons who will mainly benefit from the jobs that will be created by the businesses once Taiwanese investors come in. We were also able to convince the business owners to consider job opportunities for our islanders and even pay allowances to On-the-Job-Training students from CatSU who will travel to Taiwan,” shared Gov. Cua, who was accompanied by Ace Tria of the Provincial Agricultural Support Office.
On the other hand, Dr. Azanza disclosed that the during the MOU signing with officials of the National Taichung University of Science and Technology and the National Chung Cheng University of Taiwan, it was agreed upon that at least six CatSU faculty members will be sent as scholars beginning September 2023 on full tuition fee waiver for those who will pursue their MA or PhD in Engineering, Sciences, Education, Business, and Languages in any of the two national universities of Taiwan.
Trainings on high impact technology and smart agriculture shall also be made available to CatSU students and faculty, he added.
Joint degree offerings as part of transnational academic initiatives and the internationalization of education also formed part of the agreement.
Overall, both Cua and Azanza described the trip was “very fruitful” as the Taiwanese investors are now arranging their trips to Catanduanes and the tie-up with the two Taiwan national universities were already formalized.
The tandem expressed their deepest gratitude to the people of Taiwan who have warmly received them and have shown willingness to support and invest in the province of Catanduanes.