On account of the warm response that it received in the past three years, the Sports Room once again hosted the “Youth and Sports Professionals Olympic Experience Camp” on 9/27 (2024), with this year’s event coinciding with NPUST’s 100th Anniversary celebration. Activities started at 8:30 in the morning, just prior to the grand opening ceremony which took place in the performance hall of the IH Building at 10:30. NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang, Vice President Shang-Min Ma, Provost Wei-Hua Lu, College of Humanities Dean Ru-Chu Shih and Vice-Dean Bo-Han Wu, Director of the Physical Education Office Hsiu-Ching Lin and other distinguished guests jointly kicked off the event. A number of sports representatives, including the head of the International Division of the Ministry of Education Sports Administration, Hsiu-Ling Hsu, executive member of the Chinese Olympic Games Committee, Wen-ching Chu, 2024 Paris Olympics and 2018 Asian Games silver medalist FuTing Yang and many other were invited to contribute to the event. This year’s participants came from all over Taiwan, with a total of 330 vocational high school teachers and students majoring in physical education joining the activities were made possible thanks to the efforts of the 120 NPUST student volunteers.
In his speech, NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang said “NPUST has cultivated countless outstanding talent from Taiwan and around the world in the fields of science, technology, agriculture, sports and other areas since its establishment in 1924. Youth are the future of the country and the hope of the world. The students here are carrying forward a passion for sports, while learning how use sportsmanship to influence society and serve the community.”
The event started with Kuo-Sheng Chiu from the Chinese Taipei Olympic Games Committee sharing on the importance of the Olympic model. Hsiu-Ling Hsu, Head of the International Division of the Ministry of Education Sports Administration and Michael Lin, CEO of the Center of Industry Accelerator and Patent Strategy (IAPS), held an in-depth discussion on sports innovation and technology, emphasizing the role that technology plays in the development of sports potential. Le Hsu, CEO of StatsInsight and Pu Yuan Cheng, Chairman of Funique VR Studio shared on athlete entrepreneurship, sports data analysis, and virtual reality technology, hoping to open up new horizons of possibility for the students. 2024 Paris Olympics and 2018 Asian Games silver medal runner, FuTing Yang, and former track and field team member and assistant coach at Baylor University, Max Hsieh, shared on their sports careers and training experiences with the students, emphasizing the importance of handling the pressures of competition.
The afternoon gave focus to the past and the future with ancient Greek style competitions and relays designed to highlight the origins of Olympic Games, and a “Sports Technology Innovation Experience” activity which allowed students to see how cutting-edge technologies, including virtual reality, artificial intelligence, smart wearable devices, are applied in modern sports training.
The event came to a successful close thanks to the work of the organizers and the assistance provided by the student volunteers from NPUST. Hopes are that through it all more young students have been inspired to develop themselves in the field of sports and will find the courage to pursue their dreams of excellence.
