On February 25 (2025), a group of six teachers and students from the Center for Social and International Cooperation and the Department of Nursing at Japan’s Nara Gakuen University visited National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) for a two-day exchange and study session, focusing on early childhood education and elderly health care. Activities were arranged to give the NPUST Department of Child Care, Department of Recreational Sport & Health Promotion, and Language Center an opportunity for quality exchange with the visitors. By observing professional courses and sharing practical experiences, both sides hoped to add depth to their knowledge and understanding of the different approaches that are being applied in related fields. As both Taiwan and Japan are quickly becoming “super-aged” societies, questions related to the improvement of education for infants and toddlers and health care for the elderly have become very important for both countries. In addition to the classroom activities which helped promote in-depth discussions between teachers and students, field visits were arranged to add depth and breadth to the cross-cultural academic exchange experience.
The first stop on the visit was the Department of Child Care, where teachers and students from Nara Gakuen University were introduced to the school’s teaching facilities, infant care models, teaching aids, rhythm classroom, resource classroom, and nanny technician certification center. They also explored ways to promote cultural identity and social interaction through ‘co-learning’ between the young and the old. Later, the guests visited the Department of Recreational Sport & Health Promotion, where they observed the department’s comprehensive injury prevention and physical fitness training equipment and toured their health promotion facilities, including the flywheel classroom, water recreation area, and outdoor adventure sports ground. The students also had a chance to participate in a water bag weight training demonstration designed to improve muscle strength and balance by simulating the coordinated movements of different muscle groups with different weights. The students were impressed by the innovative teaching methods used by NPUST in the field of health promotion, and were left with an added appreciation for the practical benefits of professional training when it comes to improved physical and mental health.
Since signing a sister school agreement in 2009, NPUST and Nara Gakuen University have maintained regular exchanges. Every summer vacation, students from NPUST go to Nara Gakuen University to participate in their Japanese language training program and get themselves more acquainted with the Japanese culture. Likewise, students from Nara Gakuen University come to NPUST to learn Chinese and experience Taiwanese culture. This most recent exchange will help add new depth to the cooperation between the two schools in the fields of early childhood education and elderly health care. Through the exchange of professional knowledge and the sharing of practical experiences, both sides took a deeper look into the real-world challenges brought about by declining birthrates and the aging of society, and together they laid a more solid foundation for future cooperation.
