::: NTU HIGHLIGHTS :::

FEATURES

Small Donations for a Big Vision: A Conversation with Dr. Pei-Cheng Liao, Vice President for Financial Affairs

Prof. Pei-Cheng Liao of the Accounting Department took over as Vice President of Financial Affairs in January 2019. Between 2019 and 2021, the average growth in small donations to NTU reached 105% compared to 2018. “Many a little makes a mickle,” said Liao. If only each and every one of NTU’s 310,000 alumni could give back a little, the amount would be significant. With self-generated income becoming the primary source of funding, Liao’s mission is to get the alumni to give back regularly.

NTU Graduating Class of 2022: Striding Into the Open Road

Every year National Taiwan University welcomes graduates, guests, and alumni from home and abroad to attend its spirited commencement ceremony. This year’s ceremony, which honored the virtues of “selflessness,” “dedication,” and “altruism,” was held on May 21 at the NTU Sports Center, to celebrate the achievements of the 10,096 graduates of the Class of 2022.

GLOBAL OUTLOOK

GIS Taiwan: The Continuation of a Dream

The 13th Global Initiatives Symposium in Taiwan (GIS Taiwan) was held during January 21-25, 2022. This year’s theme is “Normality,” featuring such trending academic subtopics as “Green Renaissance,” “Pandemic Resilience,” “Blockchain Reimagined,” and “Sci-Tech Society.” The pandemic alert was raised to Level 3 when preparations were underway, so most events had to be held online. The organizers still managed to continue the dream in the post-pandemic era by coming back ever stronger.

The Bridge of Knowledge and Friendship – Global Vantage Law and Society Exchange Workshop

In the spring of 2022, 10 undergraduate and graduate students of the NTU College of Law attended the three-week Global Vantage Law and Society Exchange Workshop 2022, together with students from Kyushu University (Japan), Pusan National University (Korea), and Chulalongkorn University (Thailand). Due to the pandemic, the workshop was hosted online. The participants were divided into 10 groups to discuss and address five topics of vital importance in contemporary society: Freedom of Expression and the Press, Hate Speech, Gender Equality, Poverty, and Refugees & Migrants.

OIA Extends Warm Welcome to Johns Hopkins University Students at NTU

On March 29, the Office of International Affairs (OIA) at NTU hosted an orientation and campus tour to officially welcome students from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). During the student orientation, Hailey McGleam, a student of SAIS and recipient of the Boren Fellowship, introduced the variety of student club activities and other things they should experience at NTU.

ACHIEVEMENTS

NTU Reveals the Function of ER Stress-Induced Golgi Retrograde Transports

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi are the two major organelles in cells that support protein folding, modification, and subsequent transport. If the protein folding capacity of ER is overwhelmed or damaged, it induces the unfolded protein response (UPR), which acts to reduce ER stress. Research shows that ER stress causes cell death, and severe ER stress leads to diabetes, cancer, alteration in immune functions, and neurodegeneration, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease. Unveiling the biology of ER stress and UPR benefits the development of putative clinical therapy strategies.

Soybeans Combat Marijuana-Induced Cardiovascular Disease

Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the world, and its legal status is increasingly being relaxed for recreational use. Epidemiological studies have shown that marijuana use is linked to an increased risk of coronary artery disease. Patients who take medications containing delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main ingredient in marijuana that causes the sensation of being high, may experience cardiovascular side effects, such as changes in heart rate and blood pressure.

TEACHING & LEARNING

Co-Shaping the English Future on Campus

To enhance the international competitiveness of Taiwanese youth, the government approved an ambitious policy to turn Taiwan into an English-Mandarin bilingual nation by 2030. In support of this policy, the Ministry of Education decided to implement a dual-track English instruction approach, aimed to nurture students in professional fields and improve their English abilities at the same time.

More Than just Having Fun: D-School Develops International Talents

In step with the globalization trend, enterprises in many industries require English job interviews. To help students improve their English interview skills and outshine other candidates, D-School hosted an English workshop titled “Tips to Succeed in a Job Interview in English” with the support of NTU Center for Bilingual Education’s “Eng-lite Program.”

PEOPLE

NTU’s Long-Distance Storage and Transportation Technology Helps with the Export of Atemoya

In season from December through March, atemoya ranks the second highest among Taiwan’s fruits in export value, topping NT$1.3 billion per year. Atemoya is a large fruit with supple yet resilient pulp and a mouth-watering sweet-sour taste. Mainland China used to be the largest export market of Taiwan’s atemoya; however, the export of atemoya there was temporarily suspended on September 20, 2021. As this fruit of the farmers’ labor cannot be exported there, the government is striving to expand the overseas fruit market, with the export target of 5,000 metric tons of atemoya-- to reduce the impact on the farmers’ livelihood. However, keeping the fruit fresh in transit is critical to assuring atemoya’s popularity in the export markets.

NTU Takes Action Towards Meeting Sustainable Development Goals

The E.SUN–NTU ESG Centenary Project, a collaboration between NTU and E.SUN Bank, was launched on March 25. The project includes two subprojects: a Cypress planting project in the Yushan mountain range and a millet revival project in Xinyi Township, Nantou.

Still Together After 20 Years: Meet UPenn Librarian & Professor, Dr. Brian Vivier

Philadelphian Dr. Brian Vivier is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Chinese Studies and the Chinese Studies Librarian at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). His specialization is Song Dynasty studies and the cultural exchanges between the Song Dynasty and neighboring peoples.

NTU Racing Unveils the Next-Generation Race Car

On March 19, NTU Racing unveiled its latest design, Epsilon 3, the next-generation self-developed race car. This fully electric race car was created from scratch by volunteers of different departments. The students sought sponsors, designed the logo, built the vehicle, and launched the marketing campaign all by themselves. Everyone worked together to maximize their strengths and integrate the knowledge they learned in class into this real-life project. The current and former members of NTU Racing, instructors, and sponsors all participated in the product launch event to behold this incredible design.

NTU ArtFest 2022: Cleaning in Progress – The World Under the Pandemic

Titled “Cleaning in Progress,” the 27th NTU ArtFest was held from April 29 to May 21, exhibiting seven art pieces in different locations on campus. The festival was organized by a team of 80 students, three of which served as cochairs: Rou-An Chen of the Department of Anthropology and Yun-Zhi Li of the Department of Drama and Theatre, NTU, and I-Hao Liao of the Graduate Program of the Department of Design, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology.

Exhibition Commemorates the Sesquicentennial of George Leslie Mackay’s Arrival in Taiwan

150 years ago, a divine thread drew a Canadian missionary, George Leslie Mackay, across the ocean to Formosa, the island beautiful, blessed with God’s love. He landed in Tamsui on March 9, 1872, with an aim to spread Christianity, practice medicine, and promote education in Taiwan. In order to commemorate the sesquicentennial of George Leslie Mackay’s arrival in Taiwan, the Gallery of National Taiwan University History is holding an art exhibition in observance of “150th Anniversary of George Leslie Mackay’s Setting Foot in Taiwan: From Generation to Generation, from Taiwan to the World, Love that Transcends Time and Space,” from March 4 to August 31.