The result of “2009 Survey of Entrepreneurs’ Favorite Graduates,” done by Global Views magazine and 104 Job Bank, was announced. TKU has been ranked as No. 1 among private universities for the third time. TKU graduates trump their peers in the indicator under the category “Best improvement seen in the quality of graduates,” while in the indicators under the categories “Most progress made during employment” and “Best support rendered to alumni,” TKU gets the third, following National Taiwan University and National Cheng Kung University.
Dr. Flora C.I. Chang, President of TKU, indicated that the result of the survey will enhance the confidence of TKU’s would-be graduates when they hunt for a job. Responding to TKU’s number one ranking among private universities and best improvement seen in the quality of graduates, President Chang expressed that it is because TKU places importance on “three aspects” and “five disciplines” of education, and on implementing TQM in full-scale for a long time.
In the aspect of “Best support rendered to alumni,” Dr. Sye Wen-fa, Director, Office Alumni Services and Resources Development, indicated that TKU has founded the Office for more than ten years, and there are 153 TKU alumni associations around the world, which unite the resources of our alumni. Apart from supporting the alma mater, the alumni also like to employ TKU graduates not only for their professional expertise, but also for their good attitude.
As for the indicator under the category “Most actively help graduates to obtain employment,” TKU competes closely with its counterparts and was rated No. 9, following Yuan-zhi University and Feng Chia University among private universities. Responding to the result, Ms. Chu Pei-ying, Section Chief, Career Planning and Placement Section, indicated that in the future, they will hold more activities in consideration of students’ need, by keeping contact with each department and graduate institute and increasing their cooperation. She expects, by these measures, TKU may assist students to understand what they have to prepare before they get a job, and help them cultivate the professional skills and good working attitude.
In the survey, many corporations expressed that private university graduates need to improve their foreign language ability, international knowledge, as well as professional knowledge and skills. They also pointed out that the new graduates of private university do not have enough confidence in their professional knowledge and skills. In response to that, President Chang said TKU has emphasized on internationalization for a long time, sparing no effort to raise students’ ability. The school also did a lot of changes to improve students’ foreign language ability, such as extending the studying period of English course from one year to two years.
Moreover, Dr. Chen Kan-nan, Vice President for Academic Affairs, indicated that TKU offers many chances and information of overseas learning, such as junior abroad program, which helps students cultivate their international view. The entrepreneurs also expressed in the survey that the best characteristics private university students own are their creativity, learning ability, and cooperative ability. In addition, by praising the students who get good grades in different kinds of contests, Dr. Chen expected that these prizewinners could be the models to improve students’ learning ability and creativity.
“I am happy that TKU once again got the first place among private universities in the survey, which I am very proud of,” said Chang Lun-hua, a senior of Dept. of Banking and Finance. Because of the economic crisis, many college students worry that they cannot find a job after graduation. However, since TKU was ranked as No. 3 in the category of “Best support rendered to alumni,” if graduates can make good use of the service of career planning and placement provided by the school, it should be not difficult to get employment for TKU graduates. ( ~Shu-chun Yen )
