News--Welcome to National Chiayi University

　　“The Higher Education Enhancement Project Presentation 2020 and Sweet Potato Weevil Picture Book Launch” took place at the Library and Information Building, National Chiayi University on Dec. 4th. Hosted by the Office of Research and Development, the event was co-organized by the Office of Academic Affairs, Office of Student Affairs, Office for Academia-Industry Collaboration and Continuing Education, and teachers and students in charge of conducting the project. They invited guests including Chou Meng-Chih, Principal of Chiayi Municipal Chuiyang Elementary School, Yueh-Chen Chen, Principal of Chiayi County Rei Feng Elementary School, Chen Sheng-Zhe, Principal of Chiayi County He Mu Primary School, as well as children and parents of Pan-Shi Kindergarten, Chiayi City, to join the the Sweet Potato Weevil Picture Book Launch arranged by the Training and Research Institute of Food and Agriculture.

　　To facilitate the research, services and promotion of the food and agriculture industry, the Training and Research Institute of Food and Agriculture, NCYU, was set up last year. In 2019, the popular science team published the first picture book featuring the NCYU mascot “Chia Bao” as the main character in the Sesame series. Published this year, the Sweet Potato Weevil Picture Book, the second in the sequence, will be distributed to the elementary and junior high schools as popular science teaching materials. They hoped to fulfill the the university’s social responsibility to serve the communities in the Yunlin-Chiayi-Tainan region, one of the agricultural hubs in Taiwan by solidifying the education in the related fields, and helping promote the food safety and agriculture education in the region.

　　During the book launch, Zhou Yi-An and Huang Hong-Yi, both students of the Department of Early Childhood Education, NCYU, introduced the children to the sweet potato weevil through storytelling. This would enable the kids of Pan-Shi Kindergarten to delve further into the story when reading the Sweet Potato Weevil Picture Book. The organizers also invited Tsai Pei-Shan, allumna of NCYU and author of the picture book, to come home and sign new books for each pupil, which was expected to leave a profound impression on the children. Through the picture book, they hoped to introduce our younger generations to the ecological mystery and nutrients of sweet potatoes, and basics of agriculture and crops in simple terms. The ultimate goal is to solidify the education on food and agriculture, build food safety awareness, and encourage the public to connect with agriculture and countryside.

　　According to NCYU Vice President Chishih Chu, to implement the Higher Education Enhancement Project of the Ministry of Education, the university has been promoting various innovative plans for teaching, research and social responsibility services, ranging from offering innovative courses and interdisciplinary learning programs, to encouraging the students to perform at national concert halls. Remarkable results have been achieved at large-scale national orchid contests, field robot contests, and the IoT network technology contest, all of which serve as model examples. He expected that the students to apply their professional knowledge and core competencies they have acquired to solving practical problems, thus strengthening their future employability.