The College of the Management at Asia University (AU) and the University of Victoria (UVic) in Canada signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in July this year, and this gave a new opportunity for dual-degree cooperation between the two universities. Due to the impact of COVID-19, the two universities held a cross-border online meeting on October 16 to continue to discuss the details and schedules of the dual-degree program.

The dual-degree program discussed in this multinational online conference is based on finishing the courses required by the UVic for two years at AU, and a study at the UVic for two years; and the students will obtain the degrees from the two universities after graduation. This program provides more opportunities for the students of AU to study for dual degrees.

The dean of the International College, Ying-Huei Chen, said that the dual-degree program from the two universities is a part of the One-stop International Talent Cultivation Project of AU, for famous international schools of the project such as the UVic in Canada; Western Sydney University in Australia; San Francisco State University, California State University in San Bernardino and Northern Illinois University in America; Montpellier Business School in French; Massey University in New Zealand; the Business and Hotel Management School (BHMS) in Switzerland, etc. About cooperation with high schools, the project have already signed MOUs with Kaohsiung Municipal Girls' Senior High School, St. Dominic Catholic High School, and Washington High School. This project seeks the assistance of AU and China Medical University to connect to famous schools in Europe, America, New Zealand and Australia; and helps the domestic high schools to promote the 3 plus 2 plus 2 dual-degree program, opening up a new path for overcoming the declining birthrate environment in Taiwan.

In order to promote the 3 plus 2 plus 2 dual-degree program of the two universities and consolidate the cooperation relationship, the Management College of AU invited the representative of the UVic, Prof. Sheri Yasue and Prof. Brian Leacock, to hold a transnational online conference about the details of the program. At the same place, the conference invited the faculty members of the College of the Information and Electrical Engineering and the College of the Humanities and Social Sciences to participate to expand more cooperation.

Prof. Yasue introduced the school's geographical location, living environment, local advantages, and school-running characteristics at the conference. In addition to providing basic information about the UVic and explained the details of the relevant fees, university admission requirement, and registration time for the dual-degree program. About the tuition fees, the original tuition fee was 112,000 Canadian dollars (NTD 2,464,000) within four years, but a student of the dual-degree program needs to pay just half of the cost and spends two-year time to finish the course to get the dual degree from a prestigious international school. This is attractive to AU students or high school students who will study at AU in the future.

Prof. Yasue also shared the information that since last year, if the English score of a student is close to the required threshold (such as TOEFL 575), the student can conditionally enter the UVic and only has to pass the English test of an additional course. A student who is interested in studying for a dual degree at the UVic has to pay attention to the prerequisite courses before enrolling the program and contact the International College or the College of the Management for details. Furthermore, after graduating from a master's degree, the student has the opportunity to apply for a work permit and works in Canada for three years.