After the unveiling ceremony, Mark Liao, Director of the Academia Sinica’s Institute of Information Science, gave a speech on the development of “YOLOv9”—providing valuable insights and encouragement for students to develop the potential of AI. Congratulating the school, Liao said: “I am very honored to see National Pingtung University of Science and Technology’s investment in the field of AI computing. This is a very visionary and wise decision which will allow NPUST’s students to keep up with the times and connect with new developments whether in academia or in emerging fields”.

NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang also made a speech at the event, stating that: “AI is rising rapidly around the world and driving major innovations in various fields. Meanwhile, NPUST has set IA (Intelligence Agriculture) as an important development goal. In the future, we will continue to combine the school’s agriculture-focused science, technology, and research with AI computing, and through courses and various projects we will strengthen research and cooperation, and use our core capabilities, such as information technology, parallel computing and model training, to enhance the country’s agricultural technology.”

As a comprehensive university with a 100-year history, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology has long been committed to cultivating industrial talent. With the new AI-enabled Smart Computing Classroom equipped with 71 super chip servers, students now have an excellent resource to cultivate AI-based programing skills and develop deeper understandings of AI ​​model training processes. In conjunction with the establishment of the new classroom, the school will also be offering a new cross-domain micro course in Artificial Intelligence Internet of Things (AIoT) Programming. In the future, NPUST will continue to enrich its AI course design and expand cross-field cooperation in order to cultivate AI professionals with international competitiveness and help Taiwan’s industrial and agricultural technology reach new milestones in development.

In the future, the parties will conduct teaching experience and technology exchanges, hold mutual visits and consultations, and form cooperative teams for special tutoring and course collaboration. The activities will be guided by the themes of local revitalization, university social responsibility (USR) and local industry assistance. As the projects develop and mature, the parties will publish results, hold briefing sessions and seminars, and promote community marketing and new technology applications.

NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang said: “In recent years, we have worked to strengthen the connection between technical universities and vocational high schools in the technical and vocational education system, so we are able to have further cooperation and interaction in course and project implementation. I am very grateful to the teachers at the College of Management who have been working hard in this area for a long time, and I would like to thank Principal Huang for her willingness to have teachers and students from her school cooperate with us. After the 108 Curriculum was launched, learning methods have diversified for students and they must do more practical learning and special projects, so I hope to see further cooperation and development between our two schools in the future.”

Principal Pei-Yu Huang of Haiching Vocational thanked the team from the NPUST College of Management for their support on this agreement, saying “I believe with added resources coming from the university, we can reduce the gap between teachers & students and the industrial sector. By cooperating together, we will be able to organize courses and activities and broaden the horizons of our students and teachers.”

The purpose of this cooperation is to effectively utilize the teaching and research capacities of both parties and promote high quality and value-adding education. NPUST will supply teaching resources to the Haiching Vocational High School, conduct teacher training, and help students put together special projects. By providing students with a stronger footing at the high-school level, the industrial sector and tertiary schools within the technical and vocational education system will both stand to benefit, and the relationships that NPUST develops with the high school students will also create recruitment opportunities in the future.

This year’s silver medal-winning team, the “Fishpond People”, was composed five students from various departments. The team has been working hand in hand with the Xiaofeng Community Development Association (Jiadong Township, Pingtung) and community volunteers to create a “Sustainable Fishing Village FUN Summer Vacation”, “Fishing Village Environmental Theater” and “SDGs Game Laboratory” to help promote sustainable marine revitalization in fishing villages. They have also been incorporating “fish-eating culture” educational materials to promote ecological environment conservation at seafood locations in the villages.

From the Department of Wood Science and Design, the “Village Etiquette” team, which won the most awards, has been cooperating with the Laopi Community (Pingtung County) to create valuable cultural and creative products using a local plant species, the Chinese chaste tree (vitex negundo). They also made good use of their woodworking skills to create a semi-outdoor space “East Bank No. 91 Store” along the Donggang River. The space will be used as a base for community crafts and various activities and courses in the future.

The Puro Earth team is a multinational team with members coming from St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Belize, Malaysia and India. The team is led by Professor Herlin Chien from the Center for General Education and Assistant Professor Pearl Chang from the Department of Agriculture. Together, the team has been working with the Nanzhou Farmers’ Association to organize activities designed to familiarize international students with the features of local farmers’ associations and Taiwan’s agricultural technology. The activities are also helping to create connections for the international students in Taiwanese rural areas and build a bridges between those areas and the outside world.

As Taiwan’s leading agricultural university in Southern Taiwan, NPUST has a strong affection and sense of responsibility for farmers, agricultural products, and rural areas. By encouraging participation in the College Student Country-Side Migration Competition, the university is creating opportunities for students to go to the countryside and practice university social responsibility (USR)—and with such impressive results at this year’s competition, it is clear that the students’ work is having a positive impact.

NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang said: “NPUST’s outstanding performance in the 54th National Skills Competition not only demonstrates the strength of our students, but also reflects the school’s outstanding success in cultivating professional talent. The school will continue to support the development of her students and help them achieve greater success in future competitions and in their careers. The Department of Hotel and Restaurant Management has been committed to cultivating students’ professional skills and innovative abilities, providing advanced baking equipment and suitable practice venues to prepare them for various competitions.”

NPUST’s talent cultivation emphasizes practical learning so that students can develop solids sets of professional skills. The fact that students from the Department of Hotel and Restaurant Management have come out on top four years in a row is certainly one indicator of its effectiveness. A number of students from other departments also saw impressive performances this year, including Chun-Chen Yeh and Wei-Jen Liang from the Department of Civil Engineering, who won 1^st and 3^rd, respectively, in the Digital Construction BIM competition; Yu-Jou Chen of the Department of Fashion who won 5^th in the National Dress competition; Chi-Sheng Chen of the Department of Wood Science and Design who won 1^st in the Furniture Competition; and Yi-Fan Tu from the same department who won 3^rd in the Architectural Surfaces category.

NPUST’s president, Chin-Lung Chang, said that he is extremely proud of Yi-Chen Chen for her outstanding performances and her efforts and achievements. In recent years, NPUST has trained many outstanding students to participate in skills competitions, and they have achieved great results at home and abroad. The school will continue to provide students with more resources and support so that they can shine on the international stage and win glory for the country.

Yi-Chen Chen said: “Although I have experienced many setbacks and uncertainties along the way, I always believe that as long as I work hard and never give up, I will move closer to success. I am especially grateful to the school for the resources and the outstanding teachers at the Department of Hotel and Restaurant Management—and to all the teachers and my seniors who have helped me along the way. “

The WorldSkills Competition is held every two years by one of its member countries. With this year’s competition takin place in France, Yi-Chen Chen will be heading to Lyon in September to represent her country there. Hopes are high that Chen will achieve great results and give a dazzling performance for the world to see.

Department Director Wei-Her Hsieh, who holds a doctorate in art and design from the University of Leeds School of Design and a professional hairstyling certificate from the Vidal Sassoon Academy in London, said: “this free haircut event is not only about providing hairdressing services for the elderly, but also about providing warm communication and companionship. As the teachers and students of the Department of Fashion enjoy cordial interaction with the elderly, we can listen to their stories and share the joys of life with each other. At the same time students are able to learn to care for society and cultivate an understanding of the value of using services to help others.”

The theme selected for this year’s conference was “AI Fashion, Social Enterprise, Sustainable Management @ World Trend”. This seminar covered a total of 17 topics, with 70 research articles and 42 dissertations submitted. At the opening, Taiwan Textile Federation Chairman James Kuo was invited to give a special lecture on the Sustainable Innovation of the Textile Value Chains from the perspective of textile industry development. The seminar on sustainable development management aims to lay the foundation for the common prosperity of the economy, society, and the environment.

Chin-Lung Chang, President of NPUST, said: “the Sustainable Development Management Seminar, which is one of the university’s major annual events, has come to its 25th year. I would like to thank all the experts, scholars, and industry professionals from all over the world for supporting this NPUST seminar. Looking at current world trends, universities no longer only play the role of academic knowledge transmitters, but also serve as important promoters of sustainable development for society and the ecological environment. And so, by holding international exchanges on various topics, this seminar aims to foster more key influential forces for the country’s sustainable development.”

The seminar was co-organized by the NPUST Department of Fashion Design and Management and the NPUST Yunus Social Business Center. A total of 17 topics were covered, including entrepreneurial management, technology and R&D management, fashion design management, agricultural enterprise operations and management, knowledge management and much more.

President Chin-Lung Chang delivered a speech at the ceremony, saying “the fashion industry is an industry that is constantly changing and developing— and always working to maintain the cutting-edge. In order to better train our students and enable them to meet the challenges of this fiercely competitive market, we are committed to promoting diversified and integrated education, and so we are grateful to Great Giant for its many generous donations. This donation is more than a donation of advanced software, but is also about the creation of valuable cooperation and internship opportunities for our students, so that they will be able to learn practical skills in a real working environment”. Great Giant Chairman Kung-Jen Hsu said “I hope that students can make the most of their studies at school and apply what they have learned in the future. I also hope that this software will provide everyone with an effective learning experience. Once you have enriched yourselves during your time at school, you will be able to successfully enter the market.”

Currently the industry’s leading 3D clothing software, VStitcher was developed by the American company Browzwear. This advanced technology allows designers to create patterns, then have virtual mannequins “try on” the clothes. The process saves a lot of time and money by reducing the need to source materials and make samples of designs which might turn out less than ideal. The program can also be combined with other software to simplify design processes, improve quality and creativity and also take manufacturing processes into consideration.

Over the years, Great Giant has maintained a close industry-university relationship with the NPUST Department of Fashion Design, and many of the school’s outstanding alumni have gone on to work for Great Giant after graduation. Together, they are working to promote the talent in Southern Taiwan, and help it keep up with the North. Cooperating with Associate Professor Wei-Chen Chen, they are also working to integrate professional skills into the curriculum and develop teaching materials which will help cultivate the students’ expertise in clothing design.

OIA Vice-Dean Yuh Tzean delivered a speech at the opening, saying “food plays a very important role in cultural inheritance, tradition and history, and we hope that through this Thai food event, students can enjoy a quality time of exchange, and develop a better understanding of one another’s culture.”

After breaking into groups, students from the Department of Hotel and Restaurant Management guided the Tai and Taiwanese students through the steps as they prepared delicious foods. The first dishes to appear were the Thai green papaya salad and Taiwanese cold cucumber salad. The Thai entrée was prepared with lemon, chili pepper, fish sauce, shrimp paste, dried shrimps, chopped peanuts and other spice to create a multi-layered experience. The Taiwanese-style crispy cucumber salad was accented with touch of sesame oil to create an appetizing aroma. Both of the salads are simple and delectable cold dishes which make a great start to a meal.

Next up on the menu were Thai milk tea and pearl milk tea beverages. The Thai milk tea brings together a fusion of bitter, sweet and fragrant flavors, and its success depends getting the steps of brewing and pulling the tea just right. Once the condensed milk and evaporated milk is added, the rich, fragrant and authentic Thai milk is ready for serving. The Taiwanese pearl milk tea is simply composed of three parts: fresh milk, black tea and pearls—with the proportions of fresh milk and black tea adjusted according to personal preference. The pearls, which play a leading role, are created through a five step processes which includes “boiling, pouring, simmering, braising and mixing”. The timing of each step must be just right to create delicious pearls with just the right chewy texture.

Finally, the Thai students were taught how to make peppercorn chicken, a popular dish that has made its way back to Thailand from Taiwan in recent years. They also learned how to use Maggi Seasoning to make home-style Taiwanese egg fried rice—another recipe that they will be able to bring back to Thailand and share it with their families.

The NPUST Office of International Affairs organized the 2023 Thai Agricultural Science and Technology Short-term Chinese Language Training Camp from October 2 to October 22, 2023. A total of 29 students came from four middle schools in Thailand, including Debsirin Phukhae Saraburi School, Debsirin Samutprakan School, Debsirinromklao School, and Debsirin School. A teacher from each school accompanied the students on the exchange to NPUST, where they studied, played, and experienced life in Taiwan. The three-week course included diverse subject matter which gave focus to practical exercises. Experiential activities were organized in such fields as smart agriculture, biotechnology, food processing, environmental education, drone operation, animal science and more. The carefully planned out course provide the students with a deeper understanding NPUST’s rich connotations and opened them up to the idea of coming back for future studies.