In addition to hardware and software, we need to encourage greater “soulware” if we are to keep abreast of the internationalisation trend prevalent in global higher education today, according to Professor Way Kuo, President of City University of Hong Kong (CityU).

Soulware refers to university teachers dedicating themselves to providing a higher education that meets international standards and requirements; and to nurturing the passion for integrating teaching and research so that both teachers and students can make genuine progress and, in the end, contribute to the well-being of society, Professor Kuo explained.

Even though he was on annual leave, Professor Kuo accepted the invitation and travelled to Taiwan to give a talk because of his great enthusiasm for education. 

“Many people equate internationalisation with acquiring English proficiency, but I believe that the only key to internationalisation for a university is to place equal emphasis on teaching and research,” Professor Kuo said.

He used South Korea as an example of a country that emphasised talent and innovation with a focus on the alignment of research and development of technology with international standards.

His evidence was that a comparison of the salaries of fresh university graduates against the GPA per capita of various places including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, the US, China and South Korea revealed that South Korea attained top position.

He concluded that the essence of internationalisation was not necessarily language skills but instead the quality of research and education outcomes meeting the needs of society.

Professor Kuo shared his views at the Presidential Forum and Liberal Education Lecture at China Medical University (CMU) in Taiwan where he also delivered an address at CMU’s 60th anniversary ceremony.

In addition, Professor Kuo discussed the distribution of seven types of energies, collectively dubbed “a spectrum of energies” at an earlier talk titled “The Essential Truths about Energy Conservation” at Taipei JingMei Girls High School.

This spectrum refers to hydraulic, thermal (coal, oil and natural gas), nuclear, wind, solar, biological and other types (including the Earth’s heat, tidal waves, ocean currents, methane, and so forth).

In a lively, interactive session, he explained the impact of air pollution and climate change from the perspective of using these seven different energies.