Project Highlights 2021
A briefing on goal fulfillment with highlights
DILA identifies the self through provisioning and featuring the institutional specialties, and shifts to fit into the Higher Educational Sprout Project from our mainframe developmental project. After adjusting the performance indicators repeatedly, now the categories and items get more concise and precise. By fulfilling the progress of the target projects, the institute should be able to grow strongly and steadily.
As for project targets, we offer a wide variety of language courses to enhance students’ fundamental capacity and large numbers of seminar courses to develop students’ observational as well as cogitative ability, along with speeches and lectures delivered by domestic and international visiting scholars to broaden students’ vision. Many of the courses come with practicums or field studies and the curriculum is well-balanced between mental cognition and practical experience. This brings better efficiency to learning. And the Counseling Center also offers group counseling workshops and lectures in addition to private counseling sessions.
Steadily, we encourage faculty members to conduct research projects. An average budget of 200,000 NT is offered to faculty after granted for research.
The project of “language tutors” continues as usual. There are two language tutors offering one-on-one services in English, Japanese, and Chinese in the Spring semester, 2021 and four language tutors in the Fall semester, 2021, offering assistance in Japanese, English, Sanskrit, and Pali. There are also language programs provided.
The openness of administrative information and sharing of knowledge as public wealth has been the strength of DILA. Digital outcomes from teaching and research are combined with global and local resources to explore various issues and to form cooperative projects and to serve as platform for participation of assorted communities and groups. Such helpful resources are applied to enhance the quality of humanity, and such information-sharing is for social commonwealth as well as cultural and international development, leading to the building of a pure-land on earth.
Furthermore, our official Chinese website has been reconstructed, expected to attract more readers and users by optimized visual design. Feedbacks from users and internal departments are collected for further adjustment. A reconstruction of the English website is scheduled for next academic year on the basis of the new Chinese website.
Softwares are offered to meet students’ learning needs, e.g., assorted word processing software, statistical packages, graphic and video editing software, etc. The open and share-based files and data environment, like many of our digital archiving projects and resources available in our Mind-Life & Environment Research Center, waives the costs for students on softwares as well as archived literature and documents along with special equipment and devices. This certain relieves students’ burdens and pressures.
Beginning at the second half of a year, there are routine adjustments on the budgeting for the following year, the redirection mechanism for allocated budget, and fulfillment of project administration. With mutual supports with the institutional development project, the tasking procedure would be simplified for better efficiency of funding discipline.
In the academic year of 2021, due to realization of insufficiency of the existing academic system and lack of a student-affair system, we originally planned to invite service providers with such capability for some demonstration and introduction. Nonetheless, after several unsuccessful attempts for arrangement, this project has been suspended and postponed.
Because of the approved budget cap and the on-going pandemic, a few prioritized items and projects were canceled. Nevertheless, after redistribution of budgeting among departments and divisions and discovered remaining allowance, several of these canceled items were resumed after proper modification to optimize the funding efficacy and efficiency.
Project Outlines
A. To fulfill instructional innovation and to upgrade instructional quality
1. Coherence between teaching and research
To develop coherence between teaching and research, a consensus camp for faculty and administrative leaders was held in addition to the curriculum consensus assembly.
2. Enhancement and unification of fundamental capacity
Programs are developed to enhance students’ capabilities on reading of foreign and classical literature in the professional domains. For foreign students, programs for Chinese language are designed to improve their learning skills.
3. Integration of resources on humanities and digitization of Buddhist application
To enhance students’ usages of academic databases and their capabilities of utilizing computer software for paper writing and oral presentation.
B. To develop characteristics of the institute
1. Continuity of academic interactions in Buddhism
Encourage students to study abroad to expand their vision internationally. Host visiting monastics and students for short-term study. To enhance cultural exchange and academic cooperation, we accept applications of visiting/exchange scholars and host international lectures and symposiums, and take part in these activities overseas as well.
2. Strengthening of research resources
Constantly expand the collections for the two libraries to support the needs of teaching and research.
3.Establishment of database and development of research approaches
To work with assorted powers for digital archiving and the optimizations, and to nurture talents on Buddhist informatics.
4. Distribution of Chan culture
On the basis of accumulated Buddhist studies and traditions to integrate Buddhist education, Chan culture, and digital archiving. Organizing a community for international Buddhist education to strengthen Buddhist studies and Chan-practice teachers, for the modernization of Buddhist education and for the localization of caring.
C. To promote publicity of higher education
1. The sharing of digital resources and research tools
Progressively promote digital arching and sharing for better and easier academic studies.
2. Openness of administrative information
To construct an open platform for administrative information and share important information on the platform.
3. Supports to students for their learning and living
Take into account the social responsibility of higher education by a variety of activities and strategies to help students and neighbor communities.
D. To serve for social responsibility
1. Promotion of environment-protection consciousness in the community
To demonstrate concerns by charity student clubs and Eco-friendly construction and maintenance of the campus.
2. Propagation of life-time and extension education for the local
To educate via the environment and to share the benefits with local neighbors.
3. In accordance with SDGs for our developmental plans for years 2022 – 2025. Serve as a global citizen.