The orientation ceremony and forums for 2005 school year were held last Tuesday and Wednesday in Student Activity Center to initiate a new epoch for the freshmen.

TKU President C. I. Chang, as well as various administrative heads, led the freshmen to ascend the “Ke-nan-Hill” and experienced the simple and resolute spirit of the founding of the school. Then President Chang, on behold of all of TKU faculty and students, welcomed the 8209 new students to join the big family.

President Chang indicates that, among the many options for the young students in Taiwan, Tamkang University is historical and is the first private university founded by Taiwanese. Presently, TKU hosts 1500 professors, 700 administrative staff members, more than 27,000 students, and about 200,000 alumni. “Wish you substantiate your academic exploration in your chosen department and school in the coming days,” President Chang adds.

In the mean time, President Chang announces to the new students that, with the opening of the Lanyang Campus, the year 2005 marks the beginning of the fourth wave of TKU and the new students are concurrent with this crucial development. Different from the policies for the third wave (1996~2005), which emphasize strengthening the hardware and software of communication, the fourth wave stresses on using high-tech to facilitate students and school management. “The joining-in of the new students is very important for our school,” she highlights.

President Chang points out that the MOE’s high appraisal remarks on TKU’s achievement in 10 items correspond to the management policies of TKU—globalization, digitalization, and futurization. TKU sends more than 250 junior students to study abroad in TKU’s sister schools every year. The access to our library and information and communication services is digitalized. Computer and Information Science and Core Courses Education are highly emphasized. On top of that, our campus is “landscaped as various gardens” so that teaching and research can be undergone in a humanized and artistic environment. President Chang further heartened the new students with the evaluation done by Cheers Magazine, in which TKU graduates are rated as the most favored Private University by enterprises for the ninth time and among the top ten when compared with national universities. President Chang encourage the new students to foster the TKU traditional spirits—sincerity in profession, resolution in learning, cooperation in team work—in the followings years. (~ Chi-szu Chen )