【Office of University Social Responsibility】
Co-organized by the Office of University Social Responsibility (USR) and the College of Foreign Languages, the event “Encounter Taipei’s Animal Stars: A Joint Outing of NCCU Local and International Students” was successfully held on the morning of Saturday, September 21. All 60 registration slots were filled within a day. Despite the heavy rain, 37 faculty and students, including Dean Jia-Yu Cheng and Associate Dean Jing-Chi Chao, participated and described the experience as highly rewarding. 

In recent years, NCCU and Taipei Zoo have collaborated through the USR platform to advance the “Wenshan University Town” and the “Three Cats Project,” gradually shaping a humanistic, ecological, and international knowledge corridor in Greater Wenshan. This year marks the 70th anniversary of NCCU’s relocation to Taiwan and the 110th anniversary of Taipei Zoo. On May 22, both parties signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen cooperation in education, culture, environmental protection, and social responsibility. As the university with the highest percentage of international students in Taiwan and the College of Foreign Languages offering the most diverse language programs among national universities, NCCU has since launched its first cohort of young foreign-language tour guide volunteers. With the upcoming MRT Circular Line South Section, NCCU and Taipei Zoo will continue working together to foster local development and enhance Wenshan’s role as an international university town.

According to Deputy Executive Director Ya-Ping Wang of the USR Office, the office was established to support internal USR and USR Hub projects by integrating campus resources and strengthening the recognition of USR values among faculty, staff, and students. This event reflects the implementation of the cooperation outlined in the MOU. It is the first time the USR Office and the College of Foreign Languages have collaborated with Taipei Zoo to organize a joint learning tour for local and international students. She also thanked the college’s administrative team for promoting the event and encouraging bilingual student pairs to register together.

The visit coincided with the 20th anniversary celebration of the Taipei Zoo Insectarium on September 21. The zoo hosted an “Insect Carnival,” offering castella cakes shaped like beetle larvae and stag beetles, which were impressively detailed from body to antennae. The zoo arranged one Chinese and one English tour guide. The Chinese guide delivered humorous and informative insights into insects, capturing the audience's attention, while the English interpreter also engaged students and showcased the power of language. One student, fluent in Chinese, English, and Thai, shared that the visit helped her improve her English tour-guiding skills and, combined with her Thai language training at NCCU, will support her future goal of working in Thailand as a Mandarin-speaking tour guide and translator. According to statistics, nearly 30% of Taipei Zoo visitors are international. The zoo hopes more NCCU faculty and students will join the multilingual tour guide volunteer program.