NPUST Chief Secretary Fang-Ming Lin said that the “‘Generational Integration—Youth and Seniors Learn Together’ activity is not only an opportunity to promote learning, but also an important platform to shorten the distance between generations. This event allowed the elderly to feel the youthful vitality and sincere care of the college students, and also allowed the students to learn valuable wisdom and life experiences from the elderly, thus achieving a deep connection between the university campus and the community.

The morning session began with a class on “Hong Kong-style Fried Chicken Preparation” instructed by Professor Fu-Yuan Cheng from the Department of Animal Science. The class taught the participants how to choose healthy meat and prepare meat products. This was followed by a class on “Edamame Dim Sum Preparation” organized by Assistant Prof. Hung-Ju Tsai and Erin Shih of the Department of Hotel and Restaurant Management. Here, with the help of university students, the seniors learned how to use edamame (a local ingredient in Pingtung), to make nutritious and delicious edamame Dorayaki and edamame crepe roll cake, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the importance of a healthy diet. In addition to helping the elderly improve their life skills, the classes allowed students to experience firsthand the wisdom and rich life experiences of the elderly, and promote cross-generational understanding and communication. After the morning classes, the seniors went to the school’s Second Student Restaurant to participate in a “Nutrition Education” class taught by a nutritionist from the Pingtung County Health Bureau where they learned how to combine the six major types of food to maintain a balanced diet. Afterwards, the participants enjoyed a “Youth and Seniors Meal” together, bringing the day’s “Food Health” session to a close with laughter and friendly interaction.

NPUST’s President Chin-Lung Chang said that the event is “not only an opportunity for learning, but also a great way to narrow the distance between generations. Through cross-generational interaction, seniors can enjoy the warmth and vitality of the young students, and the students can gain from the wisdom and experience of the seniors. By providing school facilities and resources, establishing connections with the local community, making the university campus an extension of the community, and creating an environment that is friendly and respectful to the elderly, NPUST is fulfilling its university social responsibility”.

The Generational Integration series is organized by the Department of Wood Science and Design, Graduate Institute of Landscape Architecture and Recreation Management, Department of Animal Science, Department of Hotel and Restaurant Management and other academic units. It will include a variety of meaningful and lively activities that integrate features of agriculture, design, hospitality, and recreation. For the March 21^st installment, the seniors participated in two morning classes, namely “Art Therapy and Spiritual Creation” and “Plant Therapy and Body Care”. These were jointly organized by the Department of Wood Science and the Institute of Landscape Architecture. For the first class, the college students assisted the seniors as they painted the Nanzhou Sugar Factory Train using oil paints and enjoyed the spiritual inspiration brought on by creating art. After this, they experienced plant therapy in the Healing Garden, mixing essential oils from plants and learning how to use the oils for massages and relaxing the body.

After the morning classes, the seniors went to the school’s Second Student Restaurant where a nutritionist provided nutritional education using mnemonics and props. The seniors then enjoyed a pleasant lunch together, bringing the activity to a perfect end. The next installment of the Generational Integration series will take place on May 16^th, with a health food activity organized by the Department of Animal Science and the Department of Hotel and Restaurant Management.

NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang said: “Professor Pu has long been committed to the study of Taiwan’s indigenous culture, literature, and mythology, and he has made outstanding achievements in both academia and public policy. Today’s lecture will help us re-examine multiculturalism in Taiwanese society and offer everyone profound inspiration and a better understanding of and respect for the rights and interests of indigenous peoples.”

Professor Pu pointed out that “the survival of the indigenous people is not only about the continuation of a culture, but is also the basis for diverse coexistence in Taiwanese society.” He called on all sectors to support the historical justice of the indigenous people and to move forward together with an attitude of tolerance and mutual assistance so that this land can enjoy cultural harmony and co-prosperity.

In his lecture, Professor Pu focused on the diverse identity issues of indigenous peoples around the world in the 21st century, emphasizing the importance of cultural identity and rights protection under globalization. The audience was impressed by Professor Pu’s academic insights and his insistence on upholding the rights of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. They also expressed a deep appreciation for the efforts Pu is making to promote cultural preservation and ethnic dignity.

As part of the project, on an activity was held at Pengchuo Elementary School on May 23^rd (2024) from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. The first focus of the activity was “meal preparation”, with children from Pengcuo Elementary School and seniors from Yanbei Daycare Center participating in the processes together. After this, the team from the Working Dog Training Center introduced everyone to some cute little canines, and shared on the companionship that dogs can provide.

Professor Huey-Fen Su expressed “we hope that through this activity, the seniors in the Daycare Center can get outdoors, and that the children and the seniors will have the opportunity to learn from and accompany each other. These days, most families are small, and children usually have less opportunity to interact with their grandparents. These activities provide kindergarten children with opportunities to experience getting along with seniors.”

The third installment of the series was held in Pingtung ‘s Xinyuan Township on May 14^th (2024). Township Mayor Kuan-Ting Fang hosted the event, and Township Representative Yan-chiu Song and Councilor Wen-Cheng Fang presided over the opening ceremony.

Dr. You-ming Chen from Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital provided the publicity lecturer for hundreds of community members who gathered for the event. Dr. Chen provided the relevant information to the participants in a lively, easy-to-understand manner, and interacted enthusiastically with the members of the community. He advocated that dementia should not be regarded as an inevitable result of normal aging—it should be recognized and addressed to avoid delays in diagnosis and treatment.

Senior citizens from the neighboring Neipu and Zhutian communities were invited to participate in the USR program, which was designed to foster interaction between senior citizens and college students according to a philosophy of “learning together”. In this way, the university campus is able to become more of an extension of the community and use its facilities and resources to create an environment that is friendly and respectful to the elderly.

Pingtung County Health Bureau section chief Chia-Hui Chiu explained that “the aging population trend in Pingtung County has been very significant. In order to help the elderly fully enjoy senior life, we are cooperating with NPUST, providing companionship and interaction from young volunteers, and allowing the seniors to experience an environment and atmosphere that is different from their everyday lives. During the process the college students are also able to connected with the wisdom of this older generation. Both parties can feel each other’s rich and different life experiences, and the senior’s lives can be infused with a dose of youthful vitality.”

NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang said “we welcome the elders from Laiyi and Taiwu townships. NPUST attaches great importance to University Social Responsibility (USR) and promotes it in all areas. This time, we were honored to once again to cooperate with the Pingtung County Health Bureau to promote the integration of generations through education.”

The activity was not only an opportunity to share knowledge, but also to bridge the gap between generations, and allow seniors from the community to experience the student’s care. Meanwhile, the students were able to gain from the wisdom and experience of the senior citizens and look at the world from a different perspective. NPUST is committed to the practice of intergenerational integration and is working to create age-friendly environments with solid foundations. According to Pingtung County Government Health Director Hsiu-Chun Chang, Pingtung has already entered a super-aged society, so it is good see the co-prosperity of generations. She thanked NPUST for providing so many professional resources and its high-quality campus environment for young students to interact with the seniors.

A second activity on “Horticulture Green Therapy”, co-organized by the Department of Plant Industry, is scheduled to take place on May 16th (Thursday). The activity will allow for more interaction between senior citizens and college students and the further use school facilities to help the local community through university’s social responsibility.

Participants include nurses from local health centers, care attendants, nursing home nurses, long-term care specialists, service center managers, dementia care personnel and other community health care providers. The goal was to share information which will help care providers identify health abnormalities so they can provide care needs or treatment referrals as early as possible. They also hope to see self-care practices spread so that disabilities can be delayed and quality of life improve can improve for frail and elderly patients.

In his lecture, Minister Lin emphasized the importance of the “Long-term Care 2.0” project, which works to strengthen the social safety net, improve the treatment of social workers, and ensure their personal safety. He mentioned that as society ages, Taiwan urgently needs to strengthen long-term care services to cope with the growing demand. Starting from the perspective of social workers regarding the changes in the general environment, social work services need to address the functional requirements of all levels in today’s society, whether it be the elderly, children, women, indigenous peoples, disadvantaged groups, people with disabilities, military personnel, or public education providers. Minister Lin shared details on the network established by the central government and local units with the students, and discussed the future of development in the field of social work field.

When accepting the award, President Chin-Lung Chang said: “Last year NPUST became the first prize to win the Green Campus Award. When it comes to environmental issues, our pursuit of excellence has continuously resulted in favorable performances on the GreenMetric University Rankings. Now, as our school emphasizes cross-domain activities, our attention to the environment has spread to include a human element. This award demonstrates our school’s concern and care for our aging society. We are grateful to the Pingtung County Government for their financial support. Together with the Department of Long-term Care, Department of Social Affairs, Public Health Bureau, and the Department of Indigenous Peoples, we are caring for the well-being of indigenous people in Pingtung County and have been able to establish an indigenous people’s long-term care services research and development center. According to the school’s basic approach towards health integration, NPUST will continue to promote friendly communities and long-term care for the elderly.”

Professor Kui Kasirisir and other teachers from the NPUST Department of Social Work have formed a team which has been deeply involved in Pingtung for many years. Together with the Pingtung County Public Health Bureau and 15 township level health clinics in Pingtung County, they have been working to promote friendly elderly community services, counseling and training. Working with Pingtung County Department of Social Affairs, they have also been conducting research on community care for the elderly, and assisting with the development of policy recommendations to prepare for the advent of a super-aged society in Pingtung County. Furthermore, they have been actively cooperating with the Pingtung County Department of Long-term Care to promote rights to an adequate standard of living for indigenous people, and have created the “Indigenous Long-term Care Information Platform” and “Indigenous Long-term Care Services Research and Development Center” so that they can build a tribal care model adapted to local culture and conditions.

The proportion of Pingtung’s elderly population will reach 20.14% in 2024, meaning that it has already become a super-aged society. To address related needs, NPUST has formulated and been promoting a “Platinum Society” initiative as one of its four main axes development for a number of years. Research under this umbrella of activity has resulted in high-quality products and services for seniors, and the cultivation of the type of talent needed by related industries. Whether it be the production and manufacturing of healthy and functional food, the creation of home care systems, or the promotion of sports and fitness care for the elderly, NPUST has address it all. In the future the university plans to continue to work with local governments to fulfill its USR obligations and help further sustainable goals.