Source: Distinguished Professor Gou-Jen Wang, Dean of College of Engineering, NCHU

(Culture Courses of 2019 Summer Program for international students：participants had a Chinese painting calligraphy course and enjoyed a fan painting.)

Geographically located between Japan and the Philippines along the west rim of the Pacific Ocean, Taiwan is celebrated for its stunning vibrancy in technology innovation, especially in semiconductor and intelligent manufacturing. It is also one of the leading e-societies in the Asia-Pacific region. These technological and industrial innovation achievements have been highly associated with a distinctive culture comprising a wide array of Aboriginal, Chinese, Japanese, and American elements. The novelty of technology and the cultural beauty of Taiwan deserve more recognition from the world. To that end, the summer program will be held at the College of Engineering, National Chung-Hsing University (NCHU), which offers a series of laboratory experience, technical seminars, industrial field trips, and cultural interaction.

 
(Closing Ceremony of 2019 Summer Program for international students：participants took a picture with Dean Wang (left 3) after their final presentations.)

This two-week summer program is intended for engineering students from the sister institutes of NCHU to delve into the advanced engineering technologies and the cultural beauty of Taiwan. Attending students can explore the state-of-the-art engineering technologies developed in Taiwan as well as experience the beauty of this “treasure island”. During the two=week program, students also join different directed study programs in selected research groups from Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Precision Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering. At the end of the program, each team presents their research results to their peers and NCHU faculties and administrators. Meanwhile, the College of Engineering provides accommodations, tuition, and food expenses  for each student who participates in the program. Apart from the instructors, the program provides counselors, translators, and tour guides for certain learning events and occasions. Moreover, each participant will be assigned a host student, who is fluent in English, as a local guide. This allows them to gain more experience with local customs in Taiwan.

(Cultural visit of 2019 Summer Program for international students：participants had historic guided tour of Lu Kung Town- a Taiwan historical town - and had experienced a DIY of Taiwan Lion’s head Craft.)

Since 2011, the Summer Program has explicitly been organized around a main objective that enhances the educational collaboration and student exchange between the sister universities of NCHU and the local Engineering students. In recent years, we have hosted international students from the USA, Poland, France, Slovak, Czechia, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The total number of participants to date is about 220. According to the feedback of the sister universities, the program is a wonderful example of an international exchange that provides critical global experiential learning opportunities for foreign students. Contemporary engineering education must equip students with the ability to face the enormous challenges that continue to change sharply every day. Global opportunities such as our summer program play an important part in this educational process.

(Cultural visit of 2019 Summer Program for international students：participants had historic guided tour of Lu Kung Town- a Taiwan historical town - and had experienced a DIY of Taiwan Lion’s head Craft.)

Regrettably, it is mandatory that our summer program be cancelled due to the COVID-19 epidemic pandemic for two summers. To establish an exchange platform and maintaining long-term collaborative relationships with sister universities, we earnestly look forward to reopening the program in 2022.