NCHU Faculty and Students Engage Enthusiastically in Taiwan’s Very First 15 Minute Campus Town Hall Forum
NCHU Faculty and Students Engage Enthusiastically in Taiwan’s Very First 15 Minute Campus Town Hall Forum
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Turning a college campus into a classroom and students becoming public speakers is just happening right in NCHU. The Center for General Education of the National Chung Hsing University initiated the “Campus Knowledge Town Hall Forum” this semester, which also staged the very first Campus Town Hall Forum in Taiwan. Each forum session usually lasts about 10 to 15 minutes. Faculty and students engage themselves in consecutive dialogues on the key issues such as refuges, global food scarcity, transitional justice, love life, 3D printing. Most importantly, these issues were discussed out of the classroom, in main campus areas such as the Chung Hsing Lake, Black Forest, NCHU Riverbank (康堤).
According to the Center for General Education, knowledge and teaching should not be confined to the classroom. Learning should be taken outside. The students and faculty were handed over the podium in the Campus Town Hall Forum. Everyone is welcomed to raise a particular topic of interest in the Town Hall Forum. All one has to do is to apply for the speech. Forum topics are generally unrestricted, for example, it could be in the area of current affairs, knowledge sharing, art appreciation and etc. Furthermore, the school will provide speaking fee of NT$800 to NT$1,000 to every approved applicant.
So far, twenty-one sessions of National Chung Hsing University “Campus Knowledge Town Hall Forum” were held this semester. Among which, fifteen of the speakers were students, five were teachers and one faculty employee. A student in the Department of Chemistry chose to speak about transitional justice in front of the Chiang Kai-Shek statue. A student in the Program of Culture and Creative Industry, talked about old house renovation at the NCHU Village no.1. Hsieh Kun-Hua（解昆樺）, a professor in the Department of Chinese Literature, explained about the “the Story of the Stone” in front of the Confucian stone sculpture.
In fact, it is easy for one to relate any stories and topics that are worthy of exploring and gaining extensive knowledge at every corner of the school campus. The “Campus Knowledge Town Hall Forum” sessions has been recorded and uploaded on the internet. Students and faculty in the school can share video and photo files of the dialogue.
The Center for General Education said by handing the podium over to the students, faculty employees and teachers and through such vivid and interactive dialogues, this type of campus town hall forum certainly changes traditional teaching and learning pattern.
By taking over the microphone and making the best of 15 minutes to convey thoughts on a specific topic at every possible corner of the campus, learning of knowledge and exchange of views are achieved. On the other hand, students are given the opportunity to enhance speech and presentation skills, particularly, it can be challenging to accomplish well in capturing audience attention, speaking eloquently, responding to Q&As and etc. within a short period of time.
Last but not least, the Center for General Education also added that the “Campus Knowledge Town Hall Forum” eventually is intended to create an open and diverse campus culture.
Links to the National Chung Hsing University “Campus Knowledge Town Hall Forum” may be found at the following: http://cah.nchu.edu.tw/news_detail.php?ns_id=842
For the “Campus Knowledge Town Hall Forum” Venue Map, please visit: http://cah.nchu.edu.tw/TED/index.html