The Lanyang campus of TKU will be the first residential college in Taiwan adopting the collegiate system of Oxford and Cambridge Universities in the UK. It aims to achieve a harmonious and effective learning environment by fostering a close teacher and student relationship. Due to the novelty of this system in Taiwan, Tamkang Times, on behalf of the university, has organized a series of talks to illustrate its merits. Last Tuesday (December 14), the fourth talk on this theme was held at the Ching Sheng International Conference Hall. Flora Chang, TKU’s President moderated the talk in which Lin Jyh-horng, the director of Lanyang campus and Chan Yang Ying, the director of the Center for Higher Education Research and Evaluation were invited as the discussants.

Chan Yang Ying started off the talk with anecdotes and her experiences in studying in the UK. She presented them in vivid pictures that capture her visits to Oxford and Cambridge. She espoused emphatically the merits of their residential system, which encourages a warm relationship between the faculty and students to develop, and could visualize a successful application of such a system to Lanyang. “It will be like the college you see in Harry Potter where the kids fine-tune their magical powers!” she exclaimed.

Lin Jyh-horng, similarly, shared his experience in education, though in the US, which has taught him the well-pitched sensitivity to market needs. He indicated that it would be the best time for Lanyang to develop as it had everything it needs to succeed: timing, place and people. The timing, according to him, is right as Taiwanese government is vigorously promoting English education in order to enhance its global competitiveness; therefore, Lanyang’s methodology in conducting all lectures in English is ideal in preparing students for that purpose. Furthermore, the Junior Abroad Program, that will be implemented there, will train them in dealing with any issue that may arise internationally. The place, on the other hand, refers to the spatial location Lanyang campus occupies. It allows an elaborate extension, which can accommodate the Oxbridge collegiate system very well. As for people, Director Lin, has the excellent faculty at TKU in mind who will support the teaching in Lanyang initially.

Flora Chang, the president, concluded the talk emphasizing on the urgency of creating a niche in the market in an increasing competitive arena of higher education in Taiwan. TKU has to react smartly to changes and recognizing current trends, she says, if it wants to strive endlessly. One of the trends, she points out, is the Whole Man concept in education, which TKU will adopt in Lanyang. She believes in its merits and quoted her visit to Japan recently where she witnessed the successful realization of this philosophy in the Akita International University.

At the end, participants that include both TKU’s faculty and students, showed their concerns over the new campus in the Q & A. First, how about the amenities and entertainment for students as Lanyang stands alone on a hill and is quite far from any major cities? In response, Chan Yang Ying does not foresee any major problems since the campus will be self sufficient in supplying most needs. Subcontracting external suppliers can be an alternative, too. Secondly, some faculty members wondered how the university would recruit quality members to teach at a relatively remote place? Director Lin pointed out that they would mainly seek teachers who are willing to stay on campus for four days a week. However, he said that he would welcome TKU’s members to apply for the positions there as they need experienced faculties. (~Ying-hsueh Hu)

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