一、 Highlight
Tainan National University of the Arts (TNNUA) is the only art university located outside of the Taipei area. In order to decrease the gap of creative talents development between northern and southern Taiwan, TNNUA emphasizes the ethos of freedom and creativity-unlimited artistic style. Under the leadership of president, TNNUA raised the motives and purposes such as consolidates school effectiveness, links the academy to national policy, improves the cultivations of experts in cultural conservatory, practices the promote education, and sharing resources in academy-society.
Due to the changes of society in the post-pandemic era, TNNUA executes interdisciplinary, interuniversity, and international cooperation programs, expects to consolidate the combination of short and long terms target by standing on the results of the First Higher Education Sprout Project, in order to extends the educational mission of TNNUA, ‘Art Inheritance, Protection, Transformation, Innovation’ and ‘Art Expansion, Cross-border, Experiment, Connection’.
二、 Introduction to the Result of First Phase of Higher Educational Sprout Project
Implements the Pedagogic Innovation and Improve the Teaching Quality:
(1) Integrates the analysis of school information, visually consolidates the presentation, connects the administration and institutes to improves the research on school affairs, as well as expands the topics of school affairs research such as the effectiveness of learning, the analysis of students recruitment and strategy. These will be extended to the reformation of courses, teaching quality, talents cultivation, etc.
(2) Integrates arts and science-technology, improves the MOOCS programs and creates the maker space, combines practical courses to the developments of the application and technology of virtual reality. Assists students link practical ideas to commercial, the artworks extended from courses have awarded in multiple (inter)national-wide.
(3) Organizes several innovative courses with flexibility, invites teachers to co-organize courses interdisciplinary, interuniversity, and international, shares resources, and consolidates teaching innovation as well as learning.
Develops School Features:
(1) Shan Hu Tan Reservoir Arts Festival of TNNUA – Exploits the advantage of social networks in southern Taiwan, integrates the artistic energies of teachers, students, alumni, local talents and resources, expands the interaction of arts, combines the southern culture and arts, creates the sustainability of ‘TNNUA Brandmark’.
(2) Combines with school affairs developments, consolidates the school features, establishes the interaction platform for arts and science-technology, this links to Shan Hu Tan Reservoir Arts Festival, and improves the integration of virtual and reality in the way of arts creations and performance, as well as expands the cultivation of art-sci-tech talents who experts in traditional arts and innovation.
(3) Cooperates with the policy of Ministry of Education to promotes the bilingualization program, integrates localized and international resources, develops EMI courses, improves the ability of students in foreign languages opportunities, creates a bilingual learning environment, and in line with the goal of international development.
Improves the publicity of higher education:
(1) Strengthen the admission and enrollment of students in terms of "educational equality", and introduces the education of arts and aesthetics to rural areas and increases the enrollment quota for economically or culturally disadvantaged students.
(2) Provides diverse teaching, internships, career planning and subsidies, counseling for students .
Fulfill social responsibilities:
(1) Encourage departments and colleges to cooperate, and the integration of cross-school resources, or combines local government and industrial resources, to improve the social practice of teachers and students in art, and integrates art resources in rural areas.
(2) With the core of "promoting the social practice of teachers and students in art" and "enhancing the influence of innovative arts and cultural value", supplemented by SDGs, cooperate with rural schools or communities around TNNUA, to continue to consolidate art education and plan related promotions courses, and regularly organise artists-farmers market to strengthen local community empowerment.
(3) In line with the school affairs development program, "creating an arts cluster that integrates the campus and surrounding areas", uphold the spirit of university-social responsibility, establish connections and cooperation with local institutions, develop the vision of an art cluster, and enhance the influence of students' knowledge influentially and innovative value.
三、 Abstractof the Second-Phase Project
Aligning with national policies and industry needs, TNNUA promotes innovative teaching. Our goals are to arouse students' enthusiasm for learning and enhance independent learning. As a result, these goals will develop the university's characteristics of diversity and cultivate our students to become high-level all-round cross-discipline talents in the new generation of artists. Based on national development, the Ministry of Education has gathered the momentum of all education reforms, and put forward the policy of “Creative Taiwan, Global Presence-- Cultivating New-Generation Citizens Who Make the Best of Their Talents.” Under the policy, MOE has established four major principles “modern citizens,” “Taiwan-centered,” “global vision,” and “social concern” as the direction of joint efforts of schools at all levels in Taiwan.
TNNUS’s mid-range university development plan has five directions: 1) dual education foci on local characteristics and global perspectives; 2) cultivating artistic talents with both traditional competencies and innovative abilities; 3) emphasizing on arts education integrating creativity and application, 4) creating an art settlement that integrates the campus and surrounding areas, and 5) constructing a metaverse space for art exchange and science and art integration. Our second-phase Higher Education Sprout Project uses “Arts NOVA” as strategies: (N)atural environment, (O)utspread campus, (V)irtual and reality integration of sustainable zero carbon emissions, and (A)bsorbing high-level cross-discipline curriculum topics. We hope to enhance the university’s international and future artistic image. Our directions--including the maintenance and preservation of Taiwan’s traditional culture, the modern world’s leading science and technology, humanities and art, the integration of sustainability issues, attention to carbon emissions, and the integration of virtual and real to break through national boundaries—align well with the MOE’s four major principles.
In the 5-year Higher Education Sprout Project, TNNUA plans to follow the rule of bold assumptions and careful verification to implement the project step by step. Based on the four major orientations stipulated by the MOE, TNNUA has created four main axes, namely “innovative and improved curricula”, “fulfilling social responsibilities”, “industry-university cooperation” and “improving the accessibility of higher education.” Additionally, we will research on curriculum to student learning outcomes by using IR.
四、 The highlights of the project are summarized as follows:
Axis 1: Innovative and Improved Curricula
This main axis consists of four directions: 1) students’ information technology and humanistic care ability, 2) students’ interdisciplinary ability, 3) students’ independent learning ability, and 4) students’ international mobility. In the sub-project A-- the integration of science and art—we plan to enhance different types of abilities: digital literacy, narrative ability, STEAM and integrating teaching materials. The goal is to enable teachers and students to use technology to assist learning and teaching. By adopting Metaverse, we can reduce experimental waste in the process of art creation. Sub-project B aims to improve students’ flexible learning through the virtual-real integration. The sharing of cross-college online courses will increase our students’ possibilities of learning about social sciences and other fields ability, and improve the students’ high-level cross-disciplinary thinking. Furthermore, all departments and graduate institutes are also encouraged to use the UCAN system to integrate existing and newly created courses, and to adjust the module structure. Sub-project C emphasizes students’ independent learning ability. The “Amazing and Beautiful Island Project” will be implemented across departments and colleges. We hope to observe and investigate key fields to develop Taiwanese aesthetics. The university-based courses allow students to learn across departments and colleges, and to find professional coaches for research needs. Students will be able to create their own course lists. A media literacy course will allow students to do professional research in the fragmentation information age. It will also improve students’ ability to use information flexibly and reflect, and to avoid being submerged by the flood of information. Sub-project D—mobility in arts—aims to strengthen the exchanges of our teachers and students with the counterparts of other colleges abroad. We also hope to increase foreign students’ visits. Furthermore, we plan to build TNNUA’s digital campus with the Metaverse. We will offer online courses, classrooms, talks, and discussion spaces. Blockchain authentication can break through the geographical restrictions of the campus. It will allow TNNUA, physically located in Wushantou, to provide professional educators and researchers from various countries to conduct reliable and original professional knowledge exchanges in the cloud.
Axis Two: Fulfilling Social Responsibilities
This main axis takes social participation as an important indicator. In addition to enhancing students’ participation through program learning, it strengthens their sense of identity through issue-based approaches, which helps to consolidate the understanding of various social issues in Taiwan as well as a close bond between art and culture. When taking part in social issues, students learn about the importance of both tangible and intangible assets of society and culture in Taiwan.
Axis Three: Industry-Academia Cooperation and Connection
This main axis emphasizes how to cultivate the students’ problem-solving abilities. Courses provided such as seminars in the ESG industry, the awareness of the sustainable development goals of the United Nations, and the policies of the social government are all helpful for developing values, social relations, vision and pattern, and aesthetic tastes. Other supports such as the anchored all-round practice courses are provided for the competencies required by various industries. With the well-constructed course modules, students are also improved by learning from self-awareness, competencies, to self-improvement learning.
Axis Four: Promoting Higher Education AccessibilityThis main axis is divided into structures from G to I, including 1) The plan to enhance the enrollment for socioeconomically disadvantaged students. 2) The activities of multicultural explorations and experiences, and reassuring the students of campus life. 3) Engagement in professional learning. 4) Empowerment of culturally disadvantaged students through their training experience. Besides encouraging students with incentives to reduce college anxiety, from perspective of arts and humanities, multicultural understanding, activities and cultural expositions are promoted to improve the culturally disadvantaged students’ self-confidence and enhance their self-worth, which may continue to trace their indigenous communities and cultures in Taiwan.