Cultivating Talent of Rural Development Practice for Sustainable Taiwan : From R Cube Program to Shui Sha Lian College

#RuralDevelopment #CrossBoundaryLearning #SocialParticipationCourse #LocalStudies

From R Cube Program to Shui Sha Lian College

When National Chi Nan University (NCNU) was established in Puli on July 1st, 1995, aside from “balancing regional development by promoting overseas Chinese students education,”   was also set as one of the institute’s key development goals. To achieve this goal, the university has organized departments and schools in response to demands for talent cultivation in Taiwan. Additionally, after the impact of the 921 Earthquake and rebuilding efforts, NCNU took similar action to meet the demand for regional development and to instill a warm, strong momentum for social development. 

The development of different countries around the world shows that sustainable rural development is crucial to a given country’s competitiveness in overall development. However, the process of modernization has too often pushed higher education to set its sights on talent cultivation centered on urban and economic development, often at the expense of diverse and rural development. Although many students study in universities located in rural areas, they still wish to ultimately live and work in urban areas. This not only causes a talent drain in rural regions but also widens the urban-rural gap. NCNU can best relate to such trends since it is located in a rural area and has experienced the impact of the 921 Earthquake.

Incorporating the DNA of Local Development into General Education Courses

Looking back to when lives and communities were being rebuilt following the 921 Earthquake, NCNU fully realized that participating in public affairs was not only a form of professional service but also a source of inspiration for teaching and research. Therefore, the university knew it could not stay on the sidelines; action was needed to face the challenges of rural development.

NCNU has always been keen to make contributions to local areas by offering teaching and research ideas which feature local development. Since 2010, the Center for General Education of NCNU has led the way to reorganize community service courses, promote social participation courses, and map out a blueprint of the learning experience offered by Shui Sha Lian College town in order to convert the strengths of a rural area into teaching content. Moreover, the university has built upon environmental resources and development issues (those associated with culture, ecology, industry, society) in rural areas by connecting various public groups and fields of activity in the locality with courses involving exploration and calibration, survey methods, social participation/knowledge application and PBL teaching methods. Among NCNU’s general education courses, the program “R Cube: Young People Return for Rural Re-creation Practice Program and Microprogram” (R3＝Return for Rural Re-creation) was devised in hopes of fostering the aspirations, knowledge, and basic abilities of students to pay more attention to rural development.

NCNU has also worked with local socially-innovative groups and social foundations to develop several learning communities around the campus and to form learning networks between the university and local communities. These include the New Homeland Foundation, Boyo Social Welfare Foundation, Liang Sian Tang Foundation, 545 Bike Company, Puli Good Rice Agricultural Cooperative, Rest Book & Bed, Good Alley, Taomi Village, Nancun Village, Wugong Village, Fuxing Village, and more. In this regard, the NCNU Center for General Education has imbued its liberal and well-rounded education with practical wisdom and citizenship.

Building a Talent Cultivation System Starting from Rural Areas

Based on its experience in promoting the R Cube Program, NCNU established the Graduate Program in Regional Revitalization and Cross-Boundary Governance to deal with systematic learning gaps in rural areas and to prepare for the future demand for talent cultivation in rural development. The program provides extended learning opportunities for those who wish to commit themselves to rural development and regional revitalization in Taiwan. The Center for General Education was additionally restructured and renamed Shui Sha Lian College. Shui Sha Lian is not only a name of a geographical location, but a name which hints at the content of regional research and local studies.

Compared with urban planning areas, Shui Sha Lian is a typical urban and rural area under development in Taiwan. From the perspective of regional development and localism, the development of the region involves knowledge and issues on politics, economics, society, ethnic groups, cultures, and the environment. We sincerely hope that the establishment of the Shui Sha Lian college will expand the reputation of NCNU. With the establishment of the Center for General Education, the Center for Social Participation, the Center for Aesthetic Education, the Education Center for Exercise Training and Health Promotion, and the Regional Revitalization and Cross-Boundary Governance Master’s Program, we also hope to cultivate talent for cross-domain sustainable social practice in rural areas across Taiwan. Meanwhile, we will continue to strive for the university's goal of "balancing regional development by strengthening talent cultivation."   

About the R Cube Program

Compared to standard university courses, the R Cube Program encourages students to step out of the campus and examine Puli from various aspects. Our course designs are focused on experiential learning and learning through social participation. For example, our one-day hostel manager experience, coffee-making classes, rural canal field studies, and visits to local farmlands are all part of the course curriculum. We allow students to gain first-hand knowledge and experience about different public issues in Puli, then encouraging them to utilize survey methods and apply their knowledge towards innovative practices. These courses are designed to enrich their learning experience and inspire them to imagine, reflect, and take action on rural development issues.

In one instance, students from the Chinese Department and the Department of Counseling Psychology and Human Resource who enrolled in a course attempted to tackle the issue of air pollution by way of implementing an education promotion plan. Harnessing their expertise and interests, the students worked hand-in-hand with mothers from the Puli PM2.5 Air Pollution Self-Help Association on a story script. They later consulted 2019 MOE Reading Rock Award (閱讀磐石獎 ) winner Xiu-li Huang for the creation of the picture book Moonlight Festival in After Village, which raises awareness on air pollution. The book was published in both paperback and e-book versions and is widely used alongside educational activities in elementary and junior high schools across Puli. 

Overall, the R Cube Program is able to make education a heartening journey for students by raising their awareness toward humanistic concerns. The following are the results of the R Cube Program over the past few years:

1. The promotion of cross-discipline learning and encouraging teachers to design social-participation-centered courses by working with local communities: During the 2020 academic year, 26 courses were opened, with a total enrollment of 928 students. Course themes included environmental education, tribal governance, disaster prevention, ecological conservation, and more. 13 courses were open per semester and were taught by approximately 10 instructors.

2. Throughout academic years 2016 to 2020, 5,993 students enrolled in courses under the R Cube Program. 62 students enrolled in the program, with 37 completing the required courses and receiving a program certificate. The R Cube Program currently has 54 courses planned, with 35 full-time and part-time teachers taking part.

3. Founded the Shui Sha Lian College and opened the   master program of   Regional Revitalization and Cross-Boundary Governance   starting Fall 2021.

The R Cube Program x USR Interdisciplinary Project

By promoting social-participation-oriented programs along with the four stages of the R Cube Program, the NCNU Center of General Education has enriched the content of the university’s general education curriculum and brought new possibilities in pedagogy. The College of Science and Technology curriculum, for example, is incorporating social participation learning programs. Another example can be seen in the Master’s Programs of the College of Education and the College of Management Department of Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management. Both colleges share the Local Industry Revitalization and Sustainable Development—Nantou County Rural Tourism Sprout Program, which is under the Local Industry and Rural Development Program. The program curriculum is designed around the four-stage track of the R Cube Program and social-participation- centered learning. Among them, the Master’s Program of the College of Education aims to cultivate interdisciplinary, community-practiced educational research talent. It is our hope that the integration of general education into these departments will highlight NCNU's teaching characteristics in the community and dedicate educational resources to the local Nantou (Shui-Sha-Lian) area.

Ideas were exchanged shared at the General Education Practices and Social Innovation inter-collegiate Special Interest Group (SIG) Conference

NCNU held the General Education Practices and Social Innovation inter-collegiate Special Interest Group (SIG) Conference on December 4th, 2020. This event was co-hosted by the USR Project of the College of Science and Technology. The General Education Centers and Colleges of Interdisciplinary Studies of Taipei Medical University, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Feng Chia University, National Yunlin University of Technology and Science, and National Sun-yat Sen University were invited to share their views on two essential topics: "Institutional Changes for General Education Curriculum Innovation'' and "General Education Teaching Methods and Linkage to Local Communities."

The NCNU Center for General Education visited Si Wan College, National Sun Yat-Sen University in Kaohsiung to learn about the experiences regarding the college’s establishment (2020/03/18). On September 29th, 2021, the Ministry of Education officially approved the founding of Shui Sha Lian College in NCNU.

Community meetings for R Cube teachers are held every semester for an exchange of knowledge and teaching experiences.

A tree-climbing demonstration and exercise was featured in the R Cube Program course "Community Conservation and Survey Techniques."

For the R Cube Program course "Irrigation and Environmental Inspection," students visited the Loquat Town Diversion Channel (杷城大排) and learned about the local culture of Puli Laundry Pool by listening to stories told by local guides.

Each year, the NCNU Center for General Education holds community learning activities for teachers to co-learn with other universities in Taiwan. Participants discuss the ways in which local aspects are incorporated into their respective practical courses to both raise student awareness towards urban and rural communities and improve cultural and knowledge exchange .

Community consensus workshops are held each semester for teachers to discuss the state of social participation programs, teaching-related issues, and case studies.

Unbeknownst to NCNU students, Puli is the home of water bamboo. Through the participatory course "Tour Planning and Design," students could visit field sites and gain first-hand knowledge of the environmentally-friendly farming methods of water bamboo shoots.

There are many indigenous groups living around Puli. To help students build a deeper understanding of indigenous cultures, there is an indigenous culture preservation area in the school. Through the course "Traditional Agriculture and Ceremonies of the Seediq People," students have the opportunity to learn and use the Seediq method to create compost on the school farm.

Students from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature and the Department of Counseling Psychology and Human Resource Development co-designed the picture book, Moonlight Festival in the After Village, to teach children about air pollution . It has not only been published in paper form but has also been made into an online course which serves as a resource for clean air advocates . From: “R Cube: Re-creation Practice Program for Managerial Practice in Nonprofit Organizations ”.