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The pandemic has made international movement inconvenient. The Office of International Affairs (OIA) at NCU held the “International Cultural Day and Study-Abroad Fair” at the square of the Teaching and Research Building on Nov. 26 to broaden students’ international vision even when traveling abroad has been restricted. Native students who had joined the exchange program in France, Germany, Sweden, as well as international students from India, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Pakistan were invited to this event to set up exhibition stalls. The students at each stall introduced the distinctive culture of their countries and shared the customs of their local daily life. They moved their hometowns to NCU, allowing visitors to experience the culture and customs of eight countries without traveling abroad.

The alphabet “A” stands for Auditorium, the newly-built NCU auditorium in pine-cone shape, and “C” stands for Cabin Waffles, the waffle shop that students are deeply fond of. The English picture book ABC Book of NCU, co-edited by Lecturer Liu Ai-Ping at the Language Center of NCU and NCU students, shows every feature of NCU with 26 alphabets.

The “2021 NCU Photo Contest for Ten Campus Scenes” held by the Office of Secretariat and the Art Center at NCU attracted 106 contestants including faculty members, staff members, students, and alumni of NCU. A total of 226 works were submitted to the contest. After fierce competition and evaluation, the photo titled “There’s No Distance Between the Lake and Me” taken by Lee, Cahng-Wang, a master’s student at the Department of Business Administration, stood out and won the first place.

How would penguins in the Antarctic meet polar bears in the Arctic? The College of Earth Sciences at NCU gathered two speakers to give speeches at the college’s weekly meeting. The speakers were Assistant Professor Cissi Ying-tsen Lin at the Department of Space Science and Engineering, the first Taiwanese female scientist that conducted research, winter-overed, and stayed consecutive 54 weeks in the Antarctic, and Professor Hao Kuo-Chen at the Department of Earth Sciences, who led the first Taiwanese expedition team of earth sciences that set up our national flag in the Arctic. Through their splendid and immersive sharing of experiences, the two speakers led the audience to the adventures of Taiwanese earth sciences teams into the polar circles.

How could we take a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a confined soul, for a “video ride” by brain wave? A research team of AI-based brain-computer interfaces at NCU has broken through various limitations for recovering ALS patients’ autonomy and dignity. Furthermore, with the help of AI, the team has recently developed a next-gen tiny brainwave control device. In addition to medical treatment, the device can also be applied to future life and future education. With the brainwave control device, one can command a robot proxy for pandemic prevention and control. This innovation unfolds the future of “zero contact.”