【Article by Master’s Program in Global Communication and Innovation Technology】

Master's program in Global Communication and Innovative Technology (GCIT) in NCCU organized the student-led orientation event for seven new students of the 2024 Spring Semester on Feb 19, 2024. Two senior GCIT students, Jerry Lee from Taiwan and Lada Vasylenko from Ukraine, organized and hosted the informative and heart-warming activity. The new GCIT Director, Professor Trisha Lin and visiting assistant professor Christine Cook welcomed the newcomers, four locals from Taiwan and three international students from Thailand and Vietnam, with caring remarks. The orientation has introduced the GCIT curriculums, requirements, and shared experiences with new students to deal with future challenges. While Director Lin and Professor Christine Cook provided official information and feedback, Jerry and Lada shared their down-to-earth experiences to the new students.

GCIT: An interdisciplinary EMI program

GCIT is Taiwan's first international and interdisciplinary EMI graduate program focusing on global communication skills by utilizing new media technology that incorporates faculty and resources from five NCCU colleges. What makes GCIT stand out is different from the depth and width of its academic curriculum, which strives for bringing practical impacts to the students, new media industry, and to global communities. The program has a unique dual mentorship system, with academic mentors and industry experts providing support to students. It designs required domestic internship and international learning courses with subsidies that help students gain as real-life working experiences in global communication, new media and innovative technology areas. GCIT students are encouraged to graduate with capstone projects, providing tangible practical applications for real-world issues.

Such ambitions would be a big challenge to any academic program, let alone a newly established one like GCIT. As ex-Director, Professor Mei-ling Hsu, who founded the program two years ago, used to describe it, GCIT is "like an uncharted territory." Not just the students but even the faculty and staff must constantly adjust to new developments and innovative ideas. After just two years’ hardworking effort, the GCIT has established a good foundation.

Creating new milestones

"I'm just as new and excited as you to join the unique GCIT Program," Director Trisha Lin who began to lead the program in February encouraged the new students to embrace the unknown and make the fullest out of the unique learning journey. Director Lin has extensive domestic and international academic and industry networks, from nearly a decade of teaching at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore to, most recently, working as the visiting Harvard Yenching and Fulbright scholar in the United States. She is also the Vice President for a well-known International Chinese Communication Association serving the global community. Since Day 1, Director Lin has wasted no time blazing new trails for the program's future and tried to bring resources to GCIT. For instance, in addition to inviting the visiting scholar from Stanford Social Media Lab, she paved the way for new internships such as RTI Academy and developed more training opportunities for GCIT students.

A privilege with great responsibility. That is not just how Director Lin sees her new role but also the message she hopes to convey. At the event, Professor Lin reminded the new students of the benefits of GCIT, from the generous scholarships and subsidies to the state-of-the-art facilities at their disposal. Every GCIT student is not just an ambassador to promote the program but also a trailblazer in their own way. She wished the students to take advantage of the program and make the best versions of themselves.

Well-organized orientation

GCIT new students felt satisfied with the well-organized orientation as they received GCIT’s clear guidance and senior students’ experience sharing in learning and life. Yang-ming, a new Taiwanese enrollee with focus in diplomacy, found answers to many of her questions regarding capstone projects and internships during the sharing sections of Jerry and Lada. Teaching two years in GCIT program, Dr. Cook calmed new students’ anxiety and shared that many senior students felt tense about their learning and career paths due to peer pressure. "Be open to new ideas, and keep your eyes in your lanes," and "Your path will be unique," she assured them.

GCIT new students are multidisciplinary and multitalented. Sinaee from Thailand, with a background in AI and robotics, enjoyed the small-scale event which allowed her to connect with other classmates. Thao who worked in Vietnamese news media asked the guidelines regarding the use of generative AI for coursework and assignments. Wen-rou from Taiwan who showed strong interests in content creation shared her passion for K-pop dancing as a popular Youtuber. After the sharing session, the students also got the GCIT handbook, an all-in-one manual to survive the academic journey and the vibrant life in Taipei. The small book, compiled by GCIT first-batch, Giang and Mananya, has become a must-have for GCIT and other NCCU international students.

This year's event did not just happen within concrete walls of a building. At the first time new students were given a campus tour, accompanied by Billy Wu and Izzie Lee, two local students from the 2023 Fall Semester. The new enrollees highly appreciated such arrangement which gave them an insightful view into NCCU campus life. The orientation event successfully prepares the new students for their learning journey and helps them establish bonding and receive rapport from the GCIT community.