Introduction of the Indigenous Student Resource Center
After the merger between our school and the former National Hsinchu University of Education on November 1, 2016, the total number of indigenous students in both campuses reached 162. In order to provide more resources and guidance for indigenous students, our school, with funding support from the Ministry of Education, established the "Indigenous Student Resource Center" on the first floor of the South Campus' First Activity Center. The center was officially inaugurated on April 19, 2018. The Dean of Student Affairs was appointed as the director of the center, and one full-time administrative assistant of indigenous origin was employed to be responsible for promoting the services and organizing activities of the Indigenous Student Resource Center. Since 2022, in response the indigenous students’ request, the office has been moved to the second floor of Shui Mu Student Center on the main campus, and the position of director is appointed by the Dean of Student Affairs to faculty members who have extensive experience in indigenous affairs.
To help indigenous students adapt quickly to their lives and studies, and to enhance their learning outcomes, the center focuses on the following initiatives:
Entry care and life companionship: Organizing orientation activities for indigenous students, mid-term discussions, and end-of-term gatherings through the mechanism of senior indigenous student companions, providing timely assistance for the care of new indigenous students.
Academic learning: Collaborating with various tutoring programs and learning early warning mechanisms conducted by the school's Teaching Development Center, matching target students with outstanding senior students, or referring them to the Teaching Development Center for appropriate counseling.
Connecting resources from the school's Committee for Assisting Underprivileged Students and Counseling, applying for the Deep Plowing Plan for the Assistance of the Underprivileged, providing academic counseling and off-campus internships, and ensuring the care for the learning process of indigenous students.
Social participation: Providing service learning opportunities led by senior indigenous students, including ongoing homecoming services and after-school learning support each semester.
Cultural activities: Promoting various indigenous cultural learning and experiential activities, such as the on-campus Indigenous Student Cultural Learning Camp, tribal surveys, festival cultural observations, and increasing the participation rate to serve indigenous students.
Career development: Providing "career counseling consultations," "resume check-ups," and various career lectures and recruitment activities to offer employment advice and counseling for indigenous students planning to enter the workforce. Matching internal and external internship funding resources. Participating in three career-related activities each academic year.
Since its establishment, the center has united indigenous students and has established an "Indigenous Resources Center Consultation Committee" in collaboration with the school's "Committee for Assisting Underprivileged Students and Counseling Implementation" and "Center for World Austronesia and Indigenous Peoples" to jointly promote indigenous education work, create a multicultural-friendly campus, respect diverse cultures, assist indigenous students in their academic, life, and career planning, and ensure that indigenous students receive proper care during their school years.