VP Chang with King Felipe VI of Spain

Vice President Chang celebrates with King Felipe VI of Spain

NTU HIGHLIGHTS, No. 64, 2018. 02

Vice President for International Affairs Luisa Shu-Ying Chang traveled to Spain to join in the celebration of two major higher education events on December 15, 2017: the 8th centenary of the venerable University of Salamanca and the publication of the new Hispanic Judicial Dictionary.

Vice President Chang attended the events at the invitation of the Spanish Royal Academy, an organization to which she was elected as a correspondent foreign academician in 2016. During the celebrations, the vice president, who is a scholar of Spanish and speaks fluent Spanish, had a conversation with King Felipe VI of Spain, who presided over both events.

The 800-year-old University of Salamanca is the oldest university in Spain and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Europe. In 2010, that university’s vice president for international relations visited NTU to strengthen the partnership between the two universities.

Vice President Chang met with King Felipe VI at the anniversary ceremony. The king, age 49, was impressed by Chang´s NTU pin, which was designed by the Office of International Affairs, and noted that his daughters Princess Leonor, age 12, and Princess Sofía, age 10, were learning Mandarin.

Chang told the king that in 2012, as Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, she had joined a group of Chinese-language instructors to pay visits to the University of Salamanca, Complutense University of Madrid, Pompeu Fabra University, and University of Santiago de Compostela to help enhance Chinese-language instruction. The vice president also stressed that NTU was actively engaged in international collaboration with its Spanish partners, under which a growing number of Spanish-speaking students come to study in Taiwan.

Moreover, since the ceremony was attended by the current and the newly elected presidents of the University of Salamanca, Vice President Chang not only conveyed her congratulations to the presidents but also invited them both to attend NTU’s 90th anniversary festivities in 2018.

As a correspondent foreign academician, Vice President Chang is invited to participate in academic events of the Spanish Royal Academy according to royal decree. Her membership in the academy permits her to offer advice and suggestions regarding academic research and the usage of Spanish vocabulary.

The Spanish Royal Academy was founded in 1713 under the leadership of the king, who chairs significant academic events and award ceremonies to highlight the importance of such occasions.

The compilation of the Hispanic Judicial Dictionary, published in two volumes, 2,220 pages in total, was a joint effort conducted by 400 judicial experts and academicians under the coordination of the Spanish Royal Academy.

The publication ceremony drew the attendance of the world’s leading Hispanic academics, including 22 directors and representatives from Latin American academies.