Fo Guang Shan University Consortium

Intercollegiate Cooperation 2021

2021 FGS International University Consortium Meeting

Since 2017, FGS International University Consortium office has organized the annual meetings from 2016 to 2019, and the priorities of this meeting is to forwarding the ideas of education and higher education of Venerable Master Hsing Yun. Due to the Covid-19 affection the whole world in 2020, thus various industries have faced the urgency to transfer in another shape, so does to the education industry.

In respond to the Covid-19, FGS International University Consortium meeting began on January 14^th, 2021 and focused on getting over this serious problem following integrating the resources of FGS International University Consortium by communication through this video conference.

The chairman of this meeting is Dr. Chaur Shin Yung who represents the president of FGS International University Consortium, and we also invited Venerable Tzu Hui, Special Assistant to Founder’s Hall, Fo Guang Shan, who is also the Chairperson of FGU and Vice Chairperson of NHU, Board of Directors to attend this meeting. The attendees were Dr. Minh-Hoa Ta, president of University of the West, Dr. Tsong-Ming Lin, president of Nanhua University, Dr. Bill Lovegrove, president of Nan Tian Institute, Dr. Michael Lim Tan, DVM- Provost of Guang Ming College and especially Dr. Chien-Huang Chen, Director of Centre for the Study of Humanistic Buddhism and Ven. Miao Nan, Chancellor of FGS Tsunglin University to join in this meeting, therefore the deeper significance of this meeting were to expand the power of FGS International University Consortium.

The main purpose of this meeting were focusing two directions, one was to understand the safe processes and handling to Covid-19 in respective university, and the other is to review the current status of latest development in brief introduction of respectively universities. During the section one of this meeting, respective universities provided many different practices in safe processes and handling to Covid-19, so the attendees were aware of the realities of the special circumstances of education under the epidemic. It continued the agendas and progress from previous meeting and it revealed the facts that respective universities all pursued the feasible practices and plans.

The fresh agendas of this meeting were focusing on three directions.

1. In respond to the influences of Covid-19, the discussion of how FGS International University Consortium to enforce the intercollegiate cooperation.

2. How FGS International University Consortium connect with sister schools in terms of intercollegiate cooperation (communicating, teaching and connection)

3. The suggestions of how FGS International University Consortium to promote the ideas of Buddhism into respectively academic fields.

It spent three hours more on video conference, the presidents of respective universities and attendees were highly interactive, especially they proposed so many multiple directions and strategies in responding to the agendas. In the end of this meeting concluded the decision in terms of the following FGS International University Consortium meeting will be held at least twice a year, one is in person, and one is through video conference. Due to the epidemic situation, we expected the next meeting will be arranged through video conference, and it will be expected to hold at the end of the semester around late June or early July 2021.

Venerable Tzu Hui, Special Assistant to Founder’s Hall, Fo Guang Shan, Chairperson of FGU and Vice Chairperson of NHU： Will calling for all the board of directors of university consortium to come together and combine forces and resources to support our university.	Chaur-Shin Yung, Chancellor of FGS International University Consortium： Every university in the consortium should integrate Buddhism into the professional or academic program.
Shou-Jen Kuo, Assistant Director, Institute for the Study of Humanistic Buddhism：Suggest that every university should hould put in great effort to make connections with Buddhist studies into sociology and psychology.	Ven. Miao Nan, Chancellor, FGS Tsunglin University:” Tsunglin University would love to provide resources to all sister schools in Life education and moral education.