The trip is scheduled to include stops in Taipei, Taichung, New Taipei, Hsinchu and Hualien.
On Saturday evening, Ma Ying-jeou held a dinner reception to welcome the group. He said the visit is the most important event to boost exchanges between young people on both sides in recent years.
He also expressed his hope that cross-Strait tensions could be eased and cross-Strait exchanges fully resumed to benefit people on both sides.
Between late March and early April this year, Ma took a group of Taiwan students to the mainland and had discussions at three universities, during which he repeatedly expressed his hope that teachers and students from mainland universities could visit Taiwan on an exchange basis.