News

CHEERS FOR TKU UNBEATABLE POSITION AS MUCH-LOVED GRADUATES

Once again, Taiwan’s corporations chose TKU graduates as the 2008 favorite employees among those from private universities, according to a survey conducted by 104 Job Bank, the largest on-line employment agency in Taiwan. This result is in accordance with the one produced by Cheer magazine not long ago. This recent survey also reveals that TKU graduates trump their peers in the two indicators under the category “Best Improvement Awards”, and they are, “Most progress made during employment,” and “Best support rendered to alumni.” TKU comes second in the third indicator of the same category: “Best improvement seen in the quality of graduates,” following Yuan-zhi University (the third in overall ranking when graduates of national universities are included).

TKU RESARCH IN ENGINEERING AND CHEMISTRY IS IMPROVES RANKING IN ESI

According to the latest Evaluation Bimonthly, a journal published by the Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan, the publication of TKU research papers in engineering and chemistry and frequency of citation by other papers has improved greatly. They are officially in the ranking system of ESI (Essential Science Indicators). Based on this ranking, the publication of TKU research papers in engineering is ranked the 392th (moved from number 413), and have been cited 586 times, a 55 notches of improvement. Dr. Yu Gwo-hsing, the Dean of the College of Engineering, is pleased with this impressive progress. Dr. Wang Bo-cheng, the Chair of the Dept. of Chemistry, also appreciates the progress his researchers are making. The ranking of the papers produced his department is the 619th and frequency of citation is 846 times. These numbers put his department in the same bracket of the very best universities around the world. Nonetheless, he would like to see his department to be included in the first 400 in the not very distant future. Dr. Chen Kan-nan, the Vice President for Academic Affairs is pleased the TKU’s investment in research has paid off, as ESI provides a reliable gauge to evaluate the research quality of an academic institution.

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING WINS IEET CERTIFICATE

Each year IEET (Institute Engineering Education Taiwan) accredits various engineering education programs in Taiwan’s higher educational institutes. This year 138 programs from 45 colleges and universities have been accredited, with TKU’s Depts. Of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, Architecture and Chemical and Materials Engineering included. DWREE and DA have been awarded with a 3 year accreditation, while the DCME a 2 year one. Basically, there are 8 criteria the Accreditation Commission (AC) of IEET evaluate and review applicants with (for details, please check IEET website), and in order to be accredited, programs concerned must pass them all fairly satisfactory. For Materials Engineering, according to Dr. Chang Hsuan, the Chair of the Dept., their strength is the good curriculum design that aims at equipping students with practical knowledge and real life applications. This design, she added, has won top awards in the past two year from Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. As for Environmental Engineering, Dr. Chen Jyun-cheng, the Chair of the Dept., maintains, they have outstanding graduates, thanks to the relative long history of the dept. and good design of their program.

JUNIOR ABROAD STUDENTS IN US RECEIVE SURPRISE VISIT FROM HOME

TKU HOSTS MOCK US PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

This is the election year in the US and candidates from the two major parties have been campaigning hard to get heard and picked to be the presidential candidates. For the Republican Party, the running candidate was clear, while the one for the Democrats, it is still far from conclusive, seesawing between Obama and Hilary. Hence, the Graduate Institute of American Studies (GIAS) saw this as a fantastic opportunity for their students to practice some real politics by organizing a mock debate among these three heavyweights. With the help of AIT (American Institute in Taiwan), the debate will be open at noon on May 16 at Taipei Campus, moderated by Dr. Huang Chieh Cheng, the director of GIAS and Mr. Thomas Hodges, the spokeperson from AIT. Over 10 scholars on US-Taiwan affairs have been invited for a round-table discussion prior to the debate.

TKU RAISES THE ENGLISH PROFICIENCY LEVEL FOR GRADUATION

At a recent meeting on academic affairs, the English proficiency level of TKU outgoing students was discussed and a new consensus was reached. In this consensus, the graduation requirement has been raised from the Beginner’s Level to the Intermediate Level of GEPT or any equivalent to this level in other established tests. It was also decided that those who do not pass the test must take a two-credit English course to fulfill the graduation requirement. Graduate students can do this anytime before graduation, while undergraduates can only take such a course from their third year onwards.

TKU STUDNETS RECEIVE MOFA SCHOLARSHIP

The list of 34 students winning 2008 Ministry of Foreign Affairs scholarship was announced sometime ago, and six of TKU students from various institutes of the International Relations were also on the list. They are awarded with NT$ 25,000 each.These students are Guo Yi-ling, (European Studies), Lue Chi-han (China Studies), Huang Chieh-da (Japanese Studies) Huang Kuan-ming (Russian Studies), and Shia Wei-wen (East-Asian Studies).

SILENCE IS NOT GOLDEN--DEPT. OF JAPANESE WINS COLLIGATE DEBATE CONTEST

Japan, a country that is known for its treasure of silence, is not known for its debating skills. It’s a culture that also values consensus decision making, so open debates are rare in corporations and public arenas. Nonetheless, one can imagine that debating in Japanese might have taken on a different form as well as rhetoric from those that are practiced in the West which are well-rooted in Greek/European tradition. And for language learning, to debate in Japanese certainly helps. No matter what that form of debate is in Japanese, TKU Japanese team must have mastered it pretty well as they won the second place in group competition, winning them NT$ 20,000 prize money in the Fourth Colligate Japanese Debate Contest, that was organized by I-shou University on May 3 and 4.

EXOTIC FOOD AND MUSIC ABUNDANT AT FOREIGN LANGUAGES WEEK

T FOR TEA

Wine for French is like tea for Chinese. French are known for delicious and sumptuous wine and wine tasting is a highly trained skill and a form of art. Tea for Chinese, similarly, is equally sophisticated and requires great palette to appreciate its subtle aroma. When a number of French visitors (11) who reside in Taiwan visited TKU in early May (8/5) through a “Sino-French Cultural Exchange Program,” naturally, tea culture in Taiwan was introduced and demonstrated to them. First, they were received by a team of students from the Department of French, who acted as the good-will ambassadors for the entire department. In fluent French, these students walked the visitors through campus, introducing the history and features of TKU. After that, they explained tea culture to the visitors with the help of the students from the Tea Culture Club and their instructor. Having witnessed elaborate tea ceremony and savored fine Taiwanese tea, these guests were impressed by the care and thoughts DF put in. They promised that they would have further exchanges with TKU in the future.

WHO IS YOUR TKU IDOL?

The names of the finalists will be posted on TKU website (http://cyber.tku.edu.tw), revealing who the lucky ones are that will have a shot at becoming TKU first idol(s) in the live singing contest held on May 22 at the University Commons. This contest, TKU Idol(s), is organized by TKU Cyber Campus, hoping to promote learning English through songs.

FAIR FOR STUDYING ABROAD BRINGS GREAT TIPS UNDER ONE ROOF

A fair for studying abroad was held last week at the exhibition of the Business and Management Building in Tamsui Campus. Luring smell of popcorns and well-prepared presentations attracted many students who would give studying abroad a serious thought. Academic details aside, another theme of the fair was “Global Village”, so cultures from countries where they have a fair number of international students were highlighted. According to Dr. Flora Chang, the president of TKU who gave a speech at the opening ceremony, to study abroad and learn about foreign cultures are necessary steps towards becoming a true citizen of the “global village” we find ourselves living in. Only through such an exposure, she added, can TKU students learn to acquire a global vision and think critically.