Statistics Professor Collaborates in Taiwan

Mark Johnson, Ph.D., professor in the UCF Department of Statistics, visited Taipei Medical University in Taiwan to discuss partnerships and collaborations with the university.

Johnson met with Ben-Chang Shia, Ph.D., dean of the College of Management and director of the Big Data Research Center at Taipei Medical University.

They discussed possible collaborations between Taipei Medical University and the Department of Statistics at the University of Central Florida.

The College of Management at Taipei Medical University currently maintains collaborations with the University of San Diego, University of San Francisco, and New York University at Stony Brook in other areas outside of statistics.

The Department of Statistics hopes to expand Taipei Medical University’s partnerships to UCF in the area of big data and analytics.

The Big Data Research Center at Taipei Medical University has access for research purposes through its extensive health care data base on 99% of the Taiwanese population. A collaborative exploration of this data base as well as other ongoing research projects were discussed at the meeting.

Taipei Medical University also has a 3+1+1 program for mainland Chinese students who spend their first three years in China, fourth at TMU and fifth year in the U.S., culminating in dual degrees while streamlining the visa process.

TMU also has a 1+1 master’s program with about 300 students from China, Southeast Asia, Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States with all classes taught in English and the second year spent in residence in Taipei.

Johnson and Dean Shia discussed these programs as well as a joint master’s program and an internship in biostatistics.