Mr. Gary Fazzino, Vice-President of the Global Office and Public Affairs of Hewlett-Packard Company, proved two projects proceeded by TKU, the "E-Guide Dog" and "Non-obstruction Mobile Digital Classroom" on August 12, 2004. Mr. Fazzino indicated that the two projects echoed HP’s ideal to help the visually impaired to “see and love the world through touch.”

Mr. Chao-hui Lai, General Manager of Technology of HP, pointed out that three universities in Taiwan applied for the "Global Agenda for Action" project, and TKU stood out and received the financial support that amounted to $100,000 US dollars. TKU president Dr. Flora Chang presented an acknowledgement plate to HP and added $1,000,000 NT dollars to grant the two projects.

Huang Min-ta, Director of Information Processing Center, revealed that the "e-Guide Dog" included PDA, GPS, and computers for the blind. With such a system, the blind students can broadcast their vocal-orientated signal to the Center of Resources for the Blind through wireless web and locate their position on campus and then they will be informed names of roads and buildings, along with directions toward their destinations. They will feel like walking with a digital guide dog.

The "E-Guide Dog" project is scheduled to be completed and make its debut in the American Headquarter of HP Co. next year. TKU has organized a team for this beneficial project. The members of the team include President Flora Chang, Min-ta Huang (organizer of this project), Sheng-hsiung Chang (Chair of Dept. of Transportation Management), Ruey-shiang Shaw (Chair of Dept. of Information Management), among professors from various departments that include Transportation Management, Information Management, Mechanical and Electro-Mechanical Engineering, Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, and Information Processing Center.

Dr. Flora Chang indicated that TKU has been enrolling visually impaired students for over 30 years and has set up the Center of Resources for the Blind, which has developed various helpful programs for the blind and visually impaired inside and outside campus. "However, since not every visually impaired student will obtain an ‘E-Guide Dog’, these projects will be operated in coordination with Information Processing Center to secure the blind students’ movement inside and outside campus." Added President Chang.

HP also donated $2,000,000 NT dollars to the "Non-Obstruction Mobile Digital Classroom" project for the purchase of service vehicles and budgets for hardware and software maintenance workers. A team, consisting of members of the Center of Resources for the Blind, will tour around the rural areas of the island, helping blind people modifying their hardwares and updating their digital information. In addition to these services, through the mobile classroom taught by professional teaching team, computers for the blind along with digitalized information will be popularized. In three years, with the opening of computer courses in the cities and countries, estimated 3,000 blind citizens are expected to be benefited by this project.

In the near future, many new courses will also be offered, including "Practicing Window Office," "Editing WebPages and Utilizing Multimedia for the Visual-disadvantaged," "Advanced Digital Commerce." Two projects are expected to enable the blind students to be acquainted with computers, to read and write, and even assess the internet freely; they will solve the problem of the disadvantage and scarcity of Braille reading resources. The Center of Resources for the Blind also plans to provide individual assistance in teaching the visually impaired doing stock exchange and editing computer software, which would enhance their independence in life.

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