Asia University held an on-line welcome party for all the freshmen who entered the 2021 International Dual Degree Program on September 15.  Professor Chun-Wei Lin, Dean of College of Management, said in his opening remarks that 23 freshmen registered for this English-medium program.  He said, “The new students will have classes together with international students at AU for two to three years, and in their junior or senior years they can go abroad to continue their studies in AU’s sister universities.  They can obtain two degree diplomas this way from both universities after they have completed their studies in Taiwan and overseas.”

In the welcome party, many chairs from different departments of the College of Management took turns to introduce the sister universities that have close academic ties with AU, and they encouraged all the freshmen to identify one target university for their future study. Two AU students who are now studying overseas were invited to share their experiences of studying abroad on-line with the freshmen.

Ms. Jun-Han Chang, a student of this dual degree program from the Department of Accounting and Information Systems, is now studying at Northern Illinois University (NIU). In her on-line talk, she encouraged the freshmen to improve their English proficiency level and motivate themselves with a clear goal to pursue a dual degree.  She expressed her gratitude to professor Yuh-Jiuan Parng, Chair of the Department of Accounting and Information Systems, for her support and encouragement that helped make her dream of studying abroad come true.

The other invited speaker was Ms. Yun-yan Wu from the Department of Leisure and Recreation Management.  She is now studying in the Business & Hotel Management School (BHMS), Switzerland.  She mentioned that studying abroad opened her eyes to look at things from international perspectives. In addition, she made many international friends while staying in Europe. The learning experience in Switzerland will definitely help her in her future career, she added.

Dean Chun-Wei Lin stated that he will introduce the “Toastmaster” English speaking program to the language training courses for all students in the International Dual Degree Program in the hope that they can benefit from this program by polishing their English ability efficiently.”  In the welcome party, Dean Lin also invited Ms. Shu-Chen Tu, Public Relations Manager of Toastmasters International, and her colleague, Ms. Hui-Jun Lin, to demonstrate how one can learn step-by-step from introducing oneself, to telling jokes, to more advanced skills in impromptu speech, designated speech and host training. Most students showed great interest in the Toastmaster program and are eager to start the new semester.