By Gao-Ming Tang, Kai-Lin Hsiao 2016-3-22
Translated by Chia-I Chang
Photo credit to Dr. Clarence Chu, Kai-Lin Hsiao, Hui-Shia Wu, Wen-Yun Li, Ming-Chi Su, Zhong-Zhe Ma
The Second Department Alumni Association Gathering was held on 12th March 2016 by Dr. Ming-Der Wu, the former president of the association. On the special day of Azalea Festival (which was also held on 12th March), alumni of B52, B53, B62, B63, B72, B73, B82, B83, B92, B93 (classes of 1967, 1968, 1977, 1978, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008) were all invited to the gathering. They spent a day together with the professors and caught up on each other’s news. While they were busy chatting with each other, tea and desserts were also served in the gathering. Hence, the alumni could retrospect the wonderful school days in NTU.
Before the activity began, the alumni signed their names and left their contact information at the registration desk one after another. Some were accompanied by their classmates and others brought their children back to school together. They all chatted in groups, heating up the atmosphere while professors greeted them with joy.
The activity took place in the auto-visual classroom. First, Dr. Shanju Lin Chang, director of the Department of LIS, introduced the current state of our department. Then, the president of the association along with the previous president addressed a decent speech. Dr. Shanju Lin Chang talked about the transition of the department through decades, and explained how education we had in here had transformed into multidisciplinary learning. The research fields of our professors came in diversity, including archives, museum studies, information science, educational technology, etc. “Department of LIS plays a significant role in Knowledge Management and Communication Programs,” mentioned Dr. Lin, “we have made our way out of the traditional library aspect, paving the great path of information professionals in various walks of life.”
Following the Director’s speech, Bing-Kun Lin, the new president of the alumni association, delivered a speech, saying that though he engaged in politics after graduated, he still felt grateful for what he learned in college. Among all the skills he acquired from this department, Lin considered that information organization was the most helpful one for his career. The solid basis he laid during school days made him work more efficiently as a legislator.
We notice that alumni’s occupations fall in different categories. Apart from dedicating in “libraries,” there are quite a number of alumni who chose to serve in LIS-related organizations. Some of the alumni focus on academic research, and some even engage in start-up business. “Diversity” is the word for the occupations we see among these alumni.
For example, Yu-Ting Chow (class of 1988/B73) now works as the president of Da Yu publisher, Yong-Zhi Feng (class of 2007/B92) serves in National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Wei Peng has a (class of 1978/B63) job as the director of Taiwan Association of Museum Professionals, Ming-Wen Chung (class of 1998/B83) works in Flysheet Company (a knowledge acquisition, organization, distribution focused company).
As to academia, Ming-Chin Chen (class of 1977/B62) studied information engineering in the U.S. and after she graduated from the Department of LIS, she specializes in information processing and Competitive Intelligence. There are also alumni who contribute in Literature. For instance, I-Ming Huang (class of 1977/B62), Professor of English, and Chia-Hua Hsu (class of 1997/B82), Professor of French.
Although some of our alumni chose not to apply for a job in LIS, most of them work in an organization that holds some characteristics of LIS and make full use of LIS knowledge in various fields. While Wen-Tin Lai (class of 2007/B92) had her job in Giant Bicycle Company, she proposed to put up a mini library in the office. Lun-Hsieh (class of 2007/B92) started up his own business after working at Flying V Company for a period of time. He is now the Chief Executive of Aotter Inc.. There are also alumni who chose to nurture information professionals. Take Dr. Hsueh-Hua Chen (class of 1977/B62) as example, she has been teaching LIS in NTU for 28 years.
Seeing from the examples mentioned above, students of LIS are promising for sure in a wide range of fields. The alumni all agreed that what Department of LIS gave them was not only the knowledge of information, but also the true value of applying it to everyday life.
Those who were willing to “come back home” were mostly because they called up friends to join this gathering. “It’s like a top-down invitation.” said an alumnus with a smile. Though the attendance was not as high as it was expected, this gathering still reached its goal of offering a place and a chance for alumni to keep in touch with one another. It was also an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to establish contacts since the alumni has developed their career in various fields. “Everyone can know each other better through this gathering.” said Dr. Ming-Der Wu, the organizer. “I’m glad to meet my old students and catch up on their news.”
The Second Department Alumni Association Gathering had come to an end. Hope to see you next year!
Category: News