【國際事務副校長暨全英語教學推動中心主任陳小雀】
-突破疫情 啟動遠距模式 萬里通航
由國際事務處國際長升任為國際事務副校長，陳小雀說在過去四年國際長任內是扎實的基本功訓練。同仁之間的努力，讓她更了解國際化的細節，讓淡江變得更好：「感覺更有方向感，更知道如何去拓展。」
疫情期間，曾有2年6個月無法踏出國門，但她得意地說國際交流沒有間斷。「我沒有在等什麼時候疫情結束」，在她意識到疫情來臨時，她在原有的設備架上綠色布幕，用最簡單的設備與姊妹校作線上會議，馬上啟動遠距模式。因此，這兩年多來，仍陸續簽了20所姐妹校。
「疫情給我們省思，我們有專業，可以共同研發，服務在地，作出貢獻。」她舉今年為招收外籍生所舉辦的短期夏日課程為例，全球有130位學生來選修，除了姐妹校占95%，亦有新的生源。主題為「永續發展—台灣與世界」，透過非同步專業、語言，文化課程，及3場同步Teams線上會議，連結「 SDGs17:全球世界公民」，加入校友力量，拍攝林健祥的企業參訪，邀本地生共學。她說：「把世界引進來，我們也要走出去。」目前這個線上課程已加入教育部「大學聯盟深化數位學習推展與創新應用計畫」，她說未來還要加入更多的國家政策相關的計畫。
在推動國際化的工作上，她認為學校所有的發展政策，不論是校務發展計畫、深耕計畫，都是具有延續性的，有中、長程的發展，循序漸進。在國際環境改變快速，資訊爆炸、瞬息人才湧現的時代，人才需要的技能、知識都是一直在改變的，但終究離不開三化。淡江的國際化重視的培育國際人才，包括開拓學生的國際視野、安排大三出國、提升和姐妹校的互動、提升外語能力跟國際接軌，都是本校努力的目標。
本校重視遠見雜誌的評比，今年亦較去年進步，在國際化相關指標上如何突圍？陳小雀認為可以在兩方向作努力：其一是境外生的招生，目前我們的境外生人數是全國第二，離第一名仍有100名的差距，這需要重新包裝，突顯淡江特色來著手。其二，她特別指出學生移動這方面。疫前本校每年有600位學生出國，現在好不容易又恢復了生機，但「新南向」這一方面的名額始終招不滿。她鼓勵同學勇敢走不一樣的路，讓本校學生出國人數能再突破。
「從淡江航向國際，在任何角落都可以發揮力量的世界公民，具有全球責任感、全球競爭力，只要學生有夢想就會去實現，跟人分享，擁抱世界。」她一字一句的說出她心目中所謂的「國際移動」定義來鼓勵淡江學生，並以本校校歌中一句歌詞作為期許：「『浩浩淡江』真的能夠『萬里通航』！」
【賴映秀、記者林芸丞專訪】
【Professor Hsiao-Chuan Chen, Vice President for International Affairs & Director for the EMI Center】 - breaking past the pandemic, initiating remote modes, and sail the seven seas.
From being the Dean of the Office of International and Cross Strait Affairs to being promoted to the position of Vice President for International Affairs, Professor Hsiao-Chuan Chen said that her tenure as the Dean for the past 4 years was training and consolidating her foundational skills. The efforts of her colleagues allowed her to better understand the intricacies of internationalization, and allowed Tamkang to be better, “(I) feel like there’s a better sense of direction, and better know how to develop further.”
During the pandemic, the border was locked down for two-and-a-half years, but Prof. Chen stated proudly that international exchanges never stopped. “I wasn’t exactly waiting for when the pandemic was ending.” When she realized the coming of the pandemic, she just set up a green screen and initiating remote mode, using the most simple of equipment to carry out online conferences with TKU’s sister universities. Thus, in the past 2 years or so, TKU was still able to become sister university with 20 other universities. “The pandemic gave us time to contemplate. We have the expertise, we can do R&D, we can serve the local community, and make contributions.” She raised the short-term summer courses for recruiting international students as an example, where 130 students from across the world enrolled; although students from sister universities comprised 95% of the students, there were also students who came from other places. The course was entitled “Sustainable development – Taiwan and the world”, where asynchronous professional, language, and cultural classes, as well as three synchronous MS Team online conferences, the course linked up with UN’s concept of“SDGs 17: citizens of the world”. The strength of TKU alumni was also added, where a video visit to the Grand Dynasty Industrial Co. Ltd., headed by Dr. Jian-Xiang Lin (alumni of the Department of Chemistry) was made and local students were also invited to learn from the course. She said, “Drawing the world in, we also have to step out.” Currently, this course has been added into the Ministry of Education’s “ Deepening digital learning promotion and innovative application program for the university alliance”, and she said in the future that there will be more programs that will be relevant to the national policy.
In terms of promoting internationalization, Prof. Chen believes that all of TKU’s development policies, whether it is programs for development of university affairs, SPROUT projects, all have a degree of continuity, with medium- and long-term development, with progress being made one step at a time. With the international environment changing rapidly, and in this era of information explosion, and sudden bursts of talents, the skills and knowledge that talents require is constantly changing, but they will not stray away from internationalization, informatization, and futurization. Tamkang’s emphasis on internationalization and cultivation of international talents, including broadening students’ international perspective, arranging 3 rd year students for overseas exchange programs, raising interactions with sister universities, raising students’ foreign language skills and connecting with the international stage are all goals that the University is working towards.
The Taiwanese magazine Global View Monthly publishes a ranking of Taiwanese universities every year, and Tamkang University takes the assessment and comments from this ranking seriously. The University has made more improvements compared to last year, but how would it make any breakthrough on the internationalization related indices? Professor Chen believe that Tamkang can make more of an effort on two fronts: one is the recruitment of overseas students. Currently, the number of overseas students in Tamkang puts it in second place amongst the Taiwanese universities, but there is still a gap of 100 students or so between Tamkang and the first place university, so this would require some repackaging, in order to emphasize Tamkang’s features. Second, she specifically pointed out the area of student mobility.
Pre-pandemic, Tamkang has around 600 students making overseas visits each year, and with the lockdown lessening, the opportunities for travelling have returned, but the number of students for the New Southward policy continues to be lacking. She encourages students to be bravely walk a different path, so that the number of Tamkang students making oversea visits can make new breakthroughs.
“Sailing from Tamkang to the international stage, with global citizens who can exert their power no matter where they are, who has a sense of global responsibility and global competitiveness. As long as students have dreams, they can realize them, share them with others, and embrace the world.” Each and every word from the professor states what she thinks the definition of “international mobility” is to encourage Tamkang students, and uses a line from Tamkang’s school song as her hope, “’the vast Tamkang’ can really ‘sail ten thousand miles’!”
