News--Welcome to National Chiayi University

　　The unveiling ceremony of the Plant Teaching Hospital and R&D results presentation kicked off at the International Networking Academy on the Lantan campus, National Chiayi University, on Nov. 1st. With the 99th anniversary celebration, scheduled on Nov. 3rd, just around the corner, the grand event was attended by top supervisors of NCYU, led by President Chyung Ay, as well as guests of honor including Hai-tung Feng, Director General of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, Council of Agriculture (COA), Executive Yuan; Ye Ying, Chairman of the Taiwan Animal and Plant Epidemic Prevention and Quarantine and Inspection Development Association; Lin Liangmao, Executive Secretary of Chiayi County Industrial Development & Investment Promotion Committee; and Kuei-Yeh Kuo, Chairman of the NCYU National Alumni Association. The event also marked the beginning of the anniversary celebration of NCYU. President Ay specially expressed gratitude to all the NCYU faculty and staff members for their commitment to enhancing school development, and awareness that they, living on the agriculturally prosperous land of the Chianan Plain, should contribute in some way to its well-being. The Intelligent Agriculture Research Center of NCYU thus shoulders the significant responsibility to carry out research and development, and resource integration for better agriculture in Taiwan. The R&D results today served as the best testament.

　　The new R&D results presented this time included “NCYU Biosoya – Yogurt Substitute: A Platform for Developing 100% Plant-based Condensed and Fermented Soybean,” “Low-salt Raw Organic Soy Sauce – An Optimized Energy-Saving Low-salt Soy Sauce Mash Fermentation System Integrating Green Energy, Energy Storage, Intelligence,” “Recycling Process of Silicon Wafer Cutting Slurry,” and “Development of a Wireless-Enabled Area Dose Rate Meter Prototype.” All bore witness to the strong research and development capabilities shown by NCYU in recent years. In addition to the unveiling ceremony of the Plant Teaching Hospital, there were also a series of activities such as free medical service, International Cultural Festival, tea-making demonstration by three tea masters including artist Ms. Li Ruo-Jia. A spraying flight demonstration of “six-rotor drones installed with agricultural plant protection machines,” developed by the NCYU Intelligent Agriculture Research Center, took place outside the venue. With a wingspan of 160cm, the drones can be mounted with 16 liters of spray. This opened a new chapter of the era of smart agriculture.

　　In conjunction with the new policy towards botanist training, NCYU is dedicated to enhancing students’ clinical diagnostic ability. After years’ planning, the Plant Teaching Hospital was founded thanks to grants from the COA and the Higher Education Enhancement Program of the Ministry of Education. The main missions of the hospital are: plant health treatment, educational training, and plant medicine development. In terms of health treatment, the Plant Teaching Hospital will integrate the human resources of both the current professional faculty and intern botanists of the Department of Plant Medicine, NCYU. It accepts commitments from farmers, farmers’ associations and agricultural enterprises. By offering services in such areas as diagnosing the problem in field cultivation management, and providing immediate treatment consultation, it hopes to help increase farmers’ incomes.

　　The Plant Teaching Hospital also serves as a platform for integrating student education and training resources. Apart from the current faculty resources, it also invites researchers from agriculture-related units to act as faculty resources for the industry. With collaborative efforts, they will pass on and share practical experiences, hoping to empower the students of the Department of Plant Medicine to become independent and capable botanists.

　　By collecting diagnostic service cases, the Plant Teaching Hospital provides students with training in the practical diagnosis and identification with a focus on case analysis. It also integrates friendly agricultural materials created by agricultural experts, and introduces the agricultural production system to create added value. By timely reducing pest and disease in the production process, and loss due to imbalance in soil and nutrient management, it is expected to solve the problems arising from agricultural production management. The objective is to gradually integrate innovative technologies and diagnostic cases, prepare training materials, and strengthen students’ ability to correctly diagnose and treat in clinical practice.

　　According to Guo Zhang-Xin, Chairman of the Department of Plant Medicine, NCYU, the Plant Teaching Hospital will, in conjunction with the new national policy, dedicate itself to facilitating plant medicine, and encouraging young students to be engaged in high-quality agricultural production. The ultimate goal is to help increase product safety, and safeguard the public’s health. As part of the anniversary celebration, a plant medicine-themed presentation featured field pest and disease specimens, field diagnostic techniques, and results of diagnostic case analysis. Farmers and other people with a need are highly welcome to enjoy free medical service offered at the Plant Teaching Hospital, and experts from all walks of life are invited to visit and give advice.