NTHU Celebrates 112th Anniversary

2023.04.23

National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) in Taiwan recently celebrated its 112th anniversary, as well as the 67th anniversary of its reestablishment in Taiwan, with the theme “new horizons” to usher in the post-pandemic era. A large number of alumni were on hand for the event and they were amazed by all the new buildings and the new landscaping at the entrance. The day-long event began in the morning at Lake Success with students demonstrating their skills in standup paddleboarding (SUP), canoeing, and dragon boat boards, marking the return of water activities to NTHU.

New horizons for the NTHU development strategy

NTHU president W. John Kao (高為元) said that the global challenges of limited resources and competition for top personnel make it all the more important for NTHU to hold fast to its motto of “self-discipline and social commitment” while responding to current and future trends. He also enumerated the many new measures that have been added to the school's development plan over the past year, including the X-Class course selection provisions, micro-credit courses, the Bright Light mentoring program, a faculty self-development platform, the Outstanding Personnel Fund, and the New Horizons Fund. What's more, the Bamboo House has been recently inaugurated and the renovation of Lake Success is nearly completed.

Kao said that NTHU had 15 students when it was first reestablished in Taiwan, and that since then it has grown into a comprehensive university with 12 colleges and more than 18,000 students. He also pointed out that now that the pandemic is finally becoming a memory, it's time to welcome overseas alumni back to their alma mater, and he encouraged the faculty and students to unite and work hard to make NTHU a better university.

Alumni Association president Eric Tsai (蔡進步) congratulated NTHU on both of its anniversaries, pointing out that the celebration has finally returned to its pre-pandemic form. He also noted that he was pleased to see such large numbers of alumni at the event, many of whom traveled from overseas to show their support for NTHU's educational mission and promotion of social progress.

Tsai said that NTHU's 100,000 alumni are making valuable contributions all over the world in various fields. The Alumni Association and its 38 overseas chapters are dedicated to helping NTHU reach new heights in areas such as music and art, sports, general education, and student clubs.

The return of alumni from near and far

This year the keynote speech was given by honorary alumnus Philip Ong (翁文祺), who formerly served as ROC ambassador to India, chairman of Chunghwa Post, and chairman of SinoPac Financial Holdings. Ong said that Tsing Hua Academy, the predecessor of NTHU, was established in Beijing with a portion of the funds China gave to the USA as part of the Boxer Indemnity, showing that NTHU has a long-standing relationship with the United States. He further pointed out that NTHU's relationship with India is also very deep. Over the past decade, with the efforts of its successive presidents, NTHU has been actively cooperating with various Indian institutions, and the results have been remarkable. He also encouraged NTHU students to learn about India and its culture and to strike up friendships with the many Indian students on campus, since India is coming to play an increasingly important role in the international economy and the global job market.

Alumnus Donald W. Sung (宋武峰) (Department of Mathematics, 1973) is the founder of Donald W. Sung Legal and Accounting Services and the chairman of the NTHU North America Foundation. In his speech, he recalled how half a century ago NTHU had only four departments---nuclear science, mathematics, physics, and chemistry---and that among his 169 classmates, only 13 were female, remarking, “A student in the Department of Mathematics immediately calculated that each female student was surrounded by an average of a dozen male students, and that five of them actually ended up marrying one of their classmates,” eliciting a hearty round of laughter and applause.

Boating on Lake Success

One of the favorite memories of many alumni is boating on Lake Success. Prior to the main event, Kao, Tsai, and the directors of various administrative departments visited Lake Success for an update on its ongoing renovation. Vice president for general affairs Chang Hsiang-kuang (張祥光) explained that the main dredging of the lake has already been completed, and that the remaining work will be finished by June.

Kok-hwa Tan (陳國華), director of the Physical Education Office, led some 50 students in demonstrating their skills in SUP, canoeing, and dragon boat boards on the dazzling waters of Lake Success. Kao and Tsai also gave it a try and announced that alumni could look forward to boating on the lake in the near future.

A student-designed automated podium

Another highlight of this year's celebration was the debut of an automated podium built by seniors Chu Syuan-yi (朱軒毅) and Liu Hao-yu (劉皓宇) of the Department of Power Mechanical Engineering. The podium moves to the center of the stage when the speaker takes the stage, and automatically adjusts its height to the height of the speaker. Upon witnessing the new technology, Kao remarked, “This is exactly the kind of cross-disciplinary teamwork we are aiming for at NTHU.”

In particular, the NTHU emblem to the white podium was the idea of senior vice president Tai Nyan-hwa (戴念華). This DIT Robotics project was supervised by assistant professors Liu Chun-wei (劉俊葳) and Chueh Yuan-hui (覺示彙) of the Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, who oversaw all aspects of the project, including design, 3D printing, programming, circuit integration, and the painting of the housing.

Outstanding alumni

Another highlight of the anniversary celebration was the announcement of the Outstanding Alumni for 2023: Tsao Wei-thyr (曹為實) (Power Mechanical Engineering, 1984), Eric Wang (王秀鈞) (Department of Electrical Engineering, 1986), and Huang Yeo-chih (黃有執) (Power Mechanical Engineering, 1992, 1994), each of whom have distinguished themselves in their respective fields and made many contributions to their alma mater and to society.

Tsao Wei-thyr, chairman of Bank SinoPac, said that his education at NTHU prepared him well for the rigors of working on Wall Street, including the ability to think logically and analytically, and provided him with the courage to pursue high standards of professional excellence. He will soon begin teaching at NTHU and he is excited to have the opportunity to pass on his practical experience in international investment banking to the next generation.

GRC SinoGreen managing partner and director of the NTHU Alumni Association Eric Wang said that he has always felt a strong connection to NTHU, where the rigorous curriculum honed his ability to think critically. The free and open school spirit helped him discover his strengths and the school motto of “self-discipline and social commitment” taught him to see his own responsibility in meeting the needs of others.

Largan Precision vice chairman and general manager Huang Yeo-chih said that a good university is one that lays a lifelong foundation for young people and promotes the progress of society over the ensuing two to three decades. He also said that a top university like NTHU needs a lot of private support, since public support for higher education is inadequate, an issue he is deeply concerned about.

An appeal for alumni support

During the celebration, NTHU also launched three fundraising campaigns, including the Interdisciplinary Sustainability Development Fund, the Summit Sustainability Fund for attracting and retaining outstanding faculty, and the New Horizons Sustainability Fund for promoting cross-disciplinary learning, with a total fundraising target of NTD $3 billion.

Finally, NTHU won this year's Meizhu Tournament, and representatives of the winning teams presented the trophy to NTHU. The event ended with members of the class of 1973 taking the stage to lead a thundering cheer and the singing of the school song.