National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) and the University of Guam established sister school relations in 2006. This year, the pair made special arrangements to bring 10 students and two teachers from Guam to Taiwan to take part in a 7-day agriculture technology and virtual reality practical training program, which took place from July 3rd to 9th (2023). The courses offered at the NPUST Smart Agriculture Center were rich in content and provided the participants with experience operating agricultural machinery and simulated drone operations. They also learned about VR production processes and were familiarized with interactive VR systems at the Smart Media Research Center. Additional off-campus visits were made to give the students and teachers a chance to witness other interactive education systems and agriculture practices. The practical training program is expected to help the University of Guam make use of virtual reality technology to promote agricultural science education in Guam.
In order to add depth to the exchange, Professor Lee S. Yudin, dean of the College of Natural & Applied Sciences at the University of Guam, led a group to visit the Smart Agriculture Center, the Department of Plant Industry, the Department of Aquaculture, and the Department of Animal Science at NPUST. They also discussed bilateral cooperation plans with NPUST Office of Continuing and Extension Education regarding education and training for local farmers in Guam.
In September this year, NPUST has arranged for two teachers, Assistant Professor Shang Han Tsai of the Bachelor Program in Scientific Agriculture and Lecturer Bo-Yuan Cheng of the Smart Media Research Center, to visit the University of Guam and conduct agricultural field investigations and provide advice on hardware operations. Together with University of Guam Assistant Professor Kuan-Ju Chen they have also applied for a grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture for the purpose of promoting academic development and exchange between the two universities.
