TKU partners with TECO to launch 3 new employment courses 【Reporter Liao Yin-Xuan, Tamkang Campus】Tamkang University has continually strived to obtain opportunities for industry collaboration to minimize the gap between newly graduated students and business-ready employees. President Chang Chia-I and TECO Director Huang Mao-Hsiung completed the Industry Collaboration Signing Ceremony on 14 June.
Beginning in the 2016 academic year, TKU will be launching “Food Service Industry Employment” and “Tourism Industry Employment” courses in collaboration with TECO brands MOS Burger, Royal Host, and Fujio Food System. Students who complete these courses may have the opportunity to intern within the TECO group with guaranteed salary rates and benefits. Those who perform well during the internship may have the chance to earn employment as a trainee with ensured salary.
During her speech, President Chang stated that TKU places a strong emphasis on cultivating students’ skills for the workplace and increasing industry collaboration opportunities. This collaboration with the TECO group, she continued, is a chance to further realize this mix of education and real-life application. Director Huang acknowledged the foreign language ability of TKU students and elaborated that, through this industry collaboration, the TECO company would be able to recruit more of the international business talent they need.
The signing ceremony took place at TECO Headquarters within Nankang Software Industrial Park. Several media outlets vied to broadcast the news of this industry collaboration. CTITV News ran the news under the headline “Seizing Food Industry Talent! Businesses Seek Industry Collaboration with Universities.”
After the signing, both sides engaged in an informal seminar. In addition to discussing the details of this partnership, TECO Chairman Sophia Chiu praised the performance of Tamkang graduates and also highlighted the recent demand for Internet of Things, international trending, and global business management talent, which she hopes to jointly foster through this collaboration. Dean Chiu Chien-Liang of the College of Business and Management, then-Dean Ho Chii-Dong of the College of Engineering, and Dean Lucia Chen of the College of Foreign Languages took turns describing the characteristics of their respective colleges and expressed their enthusiasm to take part in this partnership. Director Wang Bo-Chang of the Office of Research and Development drew attention to the fact that TKU students and faculty should seize this rare opportunity to work together with the TECO group, a global enterprise that has branched into the heavy machinery, information technology, finance, biotechnology, and food industry fields. After the seminar, Director Huang personally led President Chang and school faculty members on a tour of TECO’s developmental history. Coincidentally, both Director Huang and President Chang share the same birth date, so a special activity was arranged to celebrate, further closing in the distance between the two partners.
Dept. of Accounting receives ACCA certification, first to do so in Taiwan
【Tamkang Times】Tamkang University’s Department of Accounting has recently received certification by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the first university in the nation to pass accreditation. President Chang Chia-I arrived at the British Council on 18 July to sign the MOU, with British Office Taipei Representative Mr. Chris Wood, Director of Accounting Huang Yong-Chuan for the Ministry of Education, and representatives from the four largest accounting firms in the nation (Deloitte, PwC Taiwan, KPMG, and Ernst & Young) also in attendance to witness the event. During her speech during the signing, President Chang said, “The ACCA is an internationally renowned professional accounting organization, and we are extremely honored to have passed their strict certification process. TKU is the first higher education organization in Taiwan to achieve the feat of signing an MOU and to receive ACCA certification. I sincerely hope that this partnership can aid students in widening their global perspective and increase their future chances for competition in the workplace.”
The Department of Accounting has been actively cultivating students with global mobility and seeking partnership opportunities with global certification organizations. Department Head Yen Hsin-Huei elaborated, “After receiving certification, our students can waive 6 basic-level tests when applying for the ACCA. If they pass 3 other basic-level tests during their time at school, they can receive degrees in accounting and business. At the same time, if students pass 9 basic-level and 3 professional-level tests, they can also obtain admission to the University of London. Furthermore, upon receiving ACCA qualification, students will only need to pass 3 more tests to become a Certified Public Accountant in Taiwan, which can boost their competiveness within the workplace.”
TKU’s Accounting Dept. received ACCA accreditation, the first university to achieve this feat in Taiwan. President Chang arrived at the British Council on 18 July to sign the MOU, with British Office Taipei Representative Mr. Chris Wood, Director of Accounting Huang Yong-Chuan for the Ministry of Education, and representatives from the four largest accounting firms in the nation (Deloitte, PwC Taiwan, KPMG, and Ernst & Young) also in attendance to witness the event.
83% of employers satisfied with TKU alumni work performance
【Tamkang Times】In July, the Office of Alumni Services and Resources Development published the Survey of Business Employers’ Satisfaction Rates for 2013-2014 Graduates. Nearly 83% of employers were satisfied with TKU alumni’s overall work performance. Office of Alumni Services and Resources Development Executive Director Peng Chun-Yang commented that Tamkang strives to cultivate the talent that businesses need, and it is through these surveys that they are able to discern what businesses think about their new hires and how they wish to work with them. He calls on all departments and colleges to continue assisting in the tracking of their alumni, so that they may create records of their development after graduation.
The Office of Alumni Services and Resources Development appointed the Statistical Survey Research Center to conduct this year’s survey, which took place from March to May of this year. A total of 1,545 surveys were recorded, with respondents being business owners or department managers that graduated from TKU in 2012 to 2013. Business owners gave over 5-point ratings for alumni’s workplace professionalism, workplace ethics, teamwork performance, and responsible attitudes, demonstrating an overall highly positive opinion of alumni work performance. 41.4% of businesses and departments said they were willing to establish internship, work-study, or employment partnerships with Tamkang, which will be placed into consideration when planning out future educational roadmaps.
