▎PEOPLE

National Taiwan University (NTU) held its 2024 Commencement Ceremony on May 25th at the Sports Center. This year, a total of 11,020 students graduated, including 5,313 undergraduates, 5,182 master's students, and 525 doctoral students.

One of the highlights of this year’s ceremony was the introduction of NTU’s first "University Interdisciplinary Bachelor" graduate. Ita Rai, who had originally majored in Geography and Environmental Resources, became the first graduate of NTU’s University Interdisciplinary Bachelor's Program (UIBP), with a focus on "Spatial Policy and Planning Science." This innovative program, launched in the 2022 academic year, is not confined by traditional disciplinary boundaries. Students in the program are encouraged to design their own respective interdisciplinary curriculums. The UIBP promotes self-directed learning by allowing students to explore multiple disciplines and combine their original major with new fields of study. This initiative symbolizes NTU's commitment to the "Future University" policy and its ongoing efforts in educational innovation.

In his remarks at the ceremony, NTU President Wen-Chang Chen encouraged graduates to advance with curiosity, dreams, and passion. He emphasized the importance of ceaselessly enhancing professional skills, putting them into practice, and paying back to society with gratitude. President Chen further highlighted the challenges posed by the overabundance of information and the frequent inconsiderateness of online comments, which can cause anxiety. He stressed that developing resilience, as measured by the Resilience Quotient (RQ)—the ability to face setbacks, challenge oneself, and overcome difficulties—will be more crucial than IQ or EQ in addressing future challenges. He regards such personal resilience to be an essential trait of character that future university education must address.

The commencement speaker this year was Prof. Tasuku Honjo, the 2018 Nobel Laureate in Medicine and a distinguished professor at the Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study. In his address, he encouraged NTU graduates to nurture their curiosity, which he considers to be the foundation of all endeavors. Prof. Honjo further urged them to bravely explore the unknown in whatever field they enter.

Speaking on behalf of the international students, Akiei Satomi of the Department of Chinese Literature, shared his experiences as a Japanese student in Taiwan. He expressed his sincere gratitude for the acceptance and kindness of the Taiwanese people, which led him to be more open and confident. Through studying abroad in Taiwan, Akiei adapted to “being different from others” and learned to define himself in the process. Satomi encouraged his fellow graduates to define their own life journeys in unique ways.