by Sirius Chen

 

From mid October to the end of the month, students of the National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU) were enthusiastically attending the Student Exchange and Study Abroad Weeks which featured program presentations and education fair.  Students had opportunities to get first-hand contact with people of foreign universities and representative offices and get information on different programs.

 

Every week there were presentations made by representatives from different sister universities and by officers from foreign representative offices in Taiwan. On October 24 there was also a Student Exchange and Study Abroad Fair where international exchange students introduced their home institutions to local students. The fair and presentations were all organized by the NSYSU Office of International Affairs.

 

The representatives were from Temple University, University of Washington, University of Pennsylvania, Växjö University, British Council, Fulbright Taiwan Foundation for Scholarly Exchange, and French Institute in Taipei.  There are a variety of programs for both undergraduate and graduate students to partake.

 

Temple University offers NSYSU students the Dual Bachelor-Master's Degree (DBMD) Program, which allows students to receive both Bachelor's and Master's degrees in five years -- Bachelor's degree awarded by NSYSU, and Master's degree by Temple University.

 

According to Dr. Douglas Baird, Assistant Dean for Science Education and Special Projects from Temple University's College of Science and Technology, Temple U is different from other universities for it offers fast-track admission decisions, an opportunity to switch fields easily, and a safe, low crime-rate campus.

 

Ms. Phelps Feeley, Assistant Director for International Programs from the University of Washington Educational Outreach, Academic Programs, captured the students' attention with her vivid introduction of the campus and of Seattle city. She then introduced NSYSU students to the Thematic Studies Abroad (TSA) Program offered by UW. Printed on the program brochures was the jargon, "Global Studies, Local Service." Students could choose to apply for the Traditional Track or the Practicum Track, the former being more academic and focused on global issues, the latter including an internship which would grant students workplace experience in a local community.

 

The third presentation was given by Nora E. Lewis, the Director of Enrollment Management from the University of Pennsylvania. NSYSU is one of the two universities in Taiwan to have direct access to UPenn through international partnership. The students were excited to know the facts that UPenn was founded by Benjamin Franklin, is one of the Ivy League universities, and is ranked number six in the States. For junior students UPenn offers a 3+2 Dual Degree Program (DDP), and for all undergraduate students, the International Guest Student Program (IGSP). There are also programs designed for students with a Bachelor's degree, and for students who desire a shorter study period.

 

The Student Exchange and Study Abroad Fair was the main spotlight. The students could browse through the introductions to many overseas universities that offer student exchange programs to NSYSU students, and they were also free to take brochures and souvenirs at the fair. International exchange students from the United States, Canada, Italy, Austria, Sweden and many other countries all came to the fair to represent their home universities, giving introductions and answering questions for NSYSU students who were interested. The student ambassadors trained by the Office of International Affairs were also at the fair, helping Taiwanese students and international students to communicate with each other.

 

The Student Exchange and Study Abroad Weeks ended on October 29th with the presentation of Växjö University of Sweden by Charlotte SKOGLUND, Head of Asian Affairs from the Växjö University's International Office. 

 

Students are encouraged to visit the websites of the Office of International Affairs and look up further information.  Applications for next year’s exchange program starts November 1 this year, there are more than one hundred openings for those who are willing to explore the world. Students should file their applications to the OIA office before November 30. 

 

 

 

By Ailin Lee

The talk on martial arts and kendo by professors from Yamagata University, Japan, was held on December 19, 2008. There were about 30 audiences from NSYSU Kendo Club, Kaohsiung Medical University Kendo Club, National Chengchi University, and National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology, etc. attended the talk.

 Yamagata University is the one of the sister universities with NSYSU. The two universities had signed the agreement as sister university last year. Through this visit professors from the Yamagata University hoped that both universities not only interact and exchange academic aspect, but also have sharing for sport and art dimension, especially martial art and kendo.  

Before the talk, a welcome speech was given by Prof. Tee Kim Tong, the Division Head of the Division of Oversea Compatriot and International Students Affairs, OIA.  The talk began with the title “To Understand the Cultural Aspect of Kendo with Foreign Kendo Practitioners” by Prof. Ryuichi Takedo, Yamagata University. Kendo has been spread to various parts of the world and flourishing overseas. A survey on the meaning of Kendo was carry out by professor Takedo among Finnish Kendo practitioners in year 2001, during his trip to Finland to teach Kendo. Through his survey, he found that Finnish Kendo practitioners carry out the practicing with a deep understanding of both the spiritual and physical aspects of the Kendo. That includes spiritual characteristics of martial virtues such as “courtesy,” “respect,” “it is important how one fights”, and “I am interested in personal improvement through physical practice.”

On the other hand, Prof. Ryuichi Takedo said that through this survey, he found that culture enriches human beings and is a thing to be shared and propagated. He also mentioned that, in this age of skepticism about traditions, kendo is a technical and spiritual culture that was born in Japan and has been accepted worldwide. He hopes for the understanding of that cultural essence and the proper transfer of the traditions.

After Prof. Ryuichi Takedo, Prof. Wataru Yasaki delivered the second talk.  The topic of the talk was “Sports Policy and Strategy in Japan.” Prof. Yasaki said the sports policy and strategy is to popularize the sports among the people in Japan. Added to this, he also hoped that people can enrich their lifestyle through sports. He started his talk through an interesting way. He showed the audience a lot of pictures and tried to describe how the Japanese promote the sports among their fellow people. The purpose why Japan held up the policy for sports is to enhance the physical strength of the children in Japan. To promote the sports in their country, there are many facilities and equipments provided to the people, such as stadiums, museums, and so on.

According to Prof. Yasaki, Japan tried to fit the sports into their culture. They promote the consciousness of the sports through movie, books, magazine, comics, and so on. He hoped, through the policy, people can enjoy the sports and make it a part of their life.

Besides giving talks in NSYSU, professors from Japan hoped to carry out a survey about the judgment of Kendo among the teachers and coaches in Taiwan. They also hope to know more about the martial art in Taiwan, which they were very interested in.

The audience who attended the talks was quite happy to have an opportunity to listen to the talks by the two Kendo experts from Japan.  The professors felt very grateful for NSYSU to give them the opportunity to introduce Kendo in this university and hinted at a possible re-visit in the near future. They also hoped that through this visit, both universities will have more collaboration not only in academic dimensions but also in martial art.

 

 

by Bob Huang

 

Each year, The Office of International Affairs holds a soccer match for International students. The nitty-gritty of this “friendship soccer match” is to build a bridge between the foreign students and overseas Chinese students. As an observer and personnel for the second consecutive year, I witnessed two extraordinary and adrenaline-rising soccer games, and now I would like to tell you what happened this year.

 

At the very beginning of the soccer game, the referee invited two teams (one is Team Foreign Student, and the other is Team Overseas Chinese Student) to stand on the middle of the ground and told each player to high-five his fellow opponents—a very traditional way to show the sportsmanship. Then the match began. For the first 20 minutes, the players hit on all cylinders, and they did not give their opponents any chances to score any points. After a lot of passing and moving near the goal area, an exchange student from Panama finally scored. The whole crowds (including me) were electrified by the “belated” goal. Team Overseas Chinese Student was not influenced by their opponent’s vigorous momentum, they still took a firm hold on themselves and played it safe. Until the end of the first half, only Team Foreign Student scored one point.

 

The atmosphere of the soccer match was very intense at the second half of the game, and these players were still very energetic. While I was distracted by the thunderous offence and defense between both teams, another point was scored by Team Foreign Student. Even though Team Foreign Student took a 2-0 lead at the second half, I still thought there would be a slight chance for the overseas Chinese students to turn the table because this team might took a goal-line stand! Unfortunately, the 2-0 situation did not change till the game was over.

 

All in all, this soccer game was very pleasant to watch, and it was probably the best match I’ve ever seen in NSYSU to date. Every player played the ballgame at full throttle, and I could tell they certainly enjoyed this match a lot. Congratulations, Team Foreign Student! A toast to Team Overseas Chinese Student, you also did a great job!  

 

 

by Sirius Chen

 

National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU, Taiwan) and Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU, China) has signed an agreement to become sister universities. This agreement will provide both universities with extensive resources for education and research in the near future.

The two universities agree to promote inter-university academic exchange by encouraging scholars from both schools to collaborate on research projects and participate in joint conferences. There will also be student exchange programs, which offer students the opportunity to study overseas either for a whole semester or for a shorter term.

The meeting between President Hung-duen Yang of NSYSU and President Huang Daren of SYSU was pleasant and successful. They discussed over the similarities between university names, school mottos, and university songs; they spoke of the closely related origin of both schools, and how they believed this agreement should be signed a long time ago. "Now that we have planes that fly directly between China and Taiwan," said President Yang, "It is easier for scholars and students of both universities to interact with each other." "Perhaps," he then added with a laugh, "there will be a flight route between Kaohsiung and Guangzhou some day soon!"

The faculty members of both sides gave brief introduction on what achievements they have made and are currently focusing on in their university. NSYSU is famous for marine science studies, of which the visiting scholars from SYSU were very interested. President Huang and the SYSU professors were invited to go on a tour, during which they had a chance to view the research vessel and the laboratories of bio-medicine and marine studies. SYSU is well known for their medical science developments, especially in medical genetics, tumor studies, and kidney and liver diseases, etc. Even though NSYSU has no actual medical department of its own, there is a close connection with other medical centers in Kaohsiung, and has made remarkable progress in cancer treatment researches. The two universities plan to hold a medical conference together next year.

Presidents from both universities exchanged gifts after signing the agreement, and President Yang presented an oil paper umbrella from Meinong, which symbolises unity and wholeness, to President Huang.

Sun Yat-sen University is located in the Guangdong Province. Currently it has four campuses with a total area of 6.17 square kilometers sitting on both sides of the Pearl River and facing the South China Sea. It was founded by the great revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen in 1924, establishing a history that is more than a hundred years old. It went through several name changes, merged with the Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Science, and developed into today's Sun Yat-sen University -- an innovative research center with a long tradition.