TKU Founder, Dr. Clement C. P. Chang congratulated a team of students, the members behind the “Forerunner” robotic soccer team, from the Department of Electrical Engineering who have just won the robotic soccer Championships in the 2003 FIRA World RoboCup. At the same time, he encouraged them to continue their efforts in developing a “robot with Artificial Intelligence (AI) by 2050”. He extended his congratulations to those who participated in the World Cup at the celebration party to which he and the President, Dr. Chang Horng-jinh invited them at the elegant Chueh Shuen Chinese Palace-styled Garden Classroom for lunch last Wednesday, Oct. 15.
Dr. Clement C.P. Chang awarded the team with NT$ 300,000, “The Champion” prize to Professor Wong Ching-Chang and his research team. He added that the university would provide an additional NT$6,000,000 subsidy towards their budget demonstrating the university’s full support of future research and development. He also gave every student on the team a present as praise of his/her performance. In return, the only female student on the team, Lee Ya-ling, presented the Founder with a uniform, the same one they wore for the competition. The cuff of each sleeve of the uniform is embroidered with the Tamkang mascot, a dolphin, balancing a ball on its nose which symbolizes that it will “lead Tamkang to wade through challenges in the future towards globalisation. ”
Former TKU president, Louis, R. Chow, Vice President of Administrative Affairs, Dr. Flora C. I. Chang, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Feng Chao-kang together with the deans of all the colleges, the 8 chairs of the departments from the College of Engineering and 17 professors who had registered for patents were also invited to the celebration. During the celebration a video of the Championship game was shown. Every critical moment of the game captivated the audience inciting endless screams and laughter. Dr. Clement Chang commented, “Fame is only a milestone. You being famous indicate that the development of AI has begun with you.”
He further emphasised the importance of teamwork: “Each department should learn from this event a valuable lesson, that if we want to establish ourselves internationally and academically, collaboration among departments will guarantee success.” TKU President, Chang Horng-jinh added, “Any strong performance as well as solid and outstanding design derives from extensive teamwork.” He anticipates further success for TKU in the realm of academics, winning even more accolades.
On Dec. 5 of this year, Professor Wong Ching-chang will lead ten students to participate in a smaller robotic soccer games, a RoboCup on a national scale. The team captains, Lee Shyh-an and Wang Ho-wei are confident in their success: “Each one of us already possesses a unique strength, so we will work on our strategy and next secret weapon.”
