On December 10, 2025, the
College of Agriculture at National Chiayi University (NCYU) and the Faculty of
Agriculture at Kagawa University held a signing ceremony for the “Master’s
Double-Degree Cooperation Agreement,” marking a significant milestone that
further deepens and expands their international partnership in higher
education.
Since becoming sister institutions in 2013, NCYU and Kagawa University have continuously strengthened exchanges in student exchange programs, short-term courses, academic research, and tripartite forums, gradually building a solid network for cross-border educational collaboration. In recognition of the strong traditions and remarkable research achievements of the College of Agriculture at NCYU and the Faculty of Agriculture at Kagawa University in agricultural sciences, the College of Agriculture at NCYU proactively proposed a master’s double-degree initiative in 2024. After nearly two years of reciprocal visits, bilateral consultations, and administrative coordination, NCYU President Han-Chien Lin and Kagawa University President Natsuo Ueda jointly signed a university-level cooperation framework on November 19, 2025. The agreement laid the formal groundwork for the official launch of the college-level double-degree program.
The signing ceremony was
conducted via video conference, during which Prof. Masahiro Ogawa, Dean of the
Faculty of Agriculture at Kagawa University, noted that deep mutual ties have
been fostered between the two institutions through long-standing exchanges. The
launch of the double-degree program marks a major milestone that will enhance
students’ intercultural competence as well as their international mobility and
professional competitiveness.
Prof. Shen Rong-Show, Dean of the College of Agriculture at NCYU, noted that amid rapid global changes, international partnerships and cultural exchanges among universities are central to addressing emerging challenges, and expressed hope that the double-degree program will open broader international academic horizons for students from both institutions.
One of the key advocates of this initiative, Prof. Peter Lutes of Kagawa University’s Faculty of Agriculture, personally led two students interested in applying for the double-degree program to Taiwan to attend the ceremony, and voiced his expectation of seeing more students from both institutions pursue cross-border studies in the future.
Cheng-Cheng Yang, Dean of the Office of International Affairs at NCYU, stated that since the sister-university agreement was established, NCYU has recommended approximately 20 students for exchange study at Kagawa University. He added that the launch of the double-degree program further demonstrates NCYU’s tangible progress in advancing its “One Department, One College, One Internationalization” initiative. Under the double-degree framework, students from both institutions are expected to share deeper international learning resources, further strengthening youth exchange and cooperation between Taiwan and Japan.
Photo 1: The
College of Agriculture at NCYU and the Faculty of Agriculture at Kagawa
University held a video conference signing ceremony for the double-degree
cooperation agreement on December 10.
Photo 2: Prof.
Masahiro Ogawa (center), Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at Kagawa
University, signs the double-degree cooperation agreement on behalf of the
college.
Photo 3: Group
photo of NCYU representatives and the visiting delegation from Kagawa
University’s Faculty of Agriculture (Photo courtesy of the Office of
International Affairs)
Photo 4: Group photo of faculty members from the Faculty of Agriculture at Kagawa University and the College of Agriculture at NCYU attending the signing ceremony.