The 2022 Taiwan Higher Education Information Technology and Digital Content Education Expo was held at Kian Kok Middle School in Kota Kinabalu from October 8 to 10. The 3-day expo was organized by the Taiwan Alumni Association of Sabah, with the assistance and support of the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia, and in collaboration with the Sabah State Education Department.
The expo was designed to promote Taiwan’s higher education by bringing a feast of science and technology learning and exchange activities to the students from secondary schools in Sabah, through a range of creative and innovative interactions and competitions.
The expo also highlighted Taiwan’s features and uniqueness of information technology and digital design technology education. The themes of the expo were: Technology Experience, Information on Further Studies, Creative Competitions, Training Workshops, and an Exhibition of Achievements.
As Mr. Pang Thou Chong, the chair of the Taiwan Alumni Association of Sabah, pointed out, this is the first expo of its kind to be held in Malaysia. This was also the first live higher education promotion expo held by the organization since the outbreak of Covid-19. It drew the participation of a team of 19 professors from seven universities and colleges in Taiwan: Ching Kuo Institute of Management and Health, Da-Yeh University, Hsuan Chuang University, Lee-Ming Institute of Technology, Minghsin University of Science and Technology, National Dong Hwa University, and Tainan University of Technology.
The students were able to experience technology in person through a variety of exhibitions, training workshops, seminars, and competitions. The training workshops and seminars focused on topics related to animation and game making, IT and engineering education, IT and digital content writing, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), the metaverse, and 3D printing, tailored to the participating teams and to the general public. There were also creative competitions—such as mBot Coding and Games Making Competitions—designed to help stimulate the students’ creativity and innovation, and arouse their interest in the technology field. And at the same time, the students could visit booths and obtain information about the technology, and art and design courses and programs offered by the participating universities in Taiwan.
A total of 11 secondary schools and vocational colleges in Sabah participated in the expo: Beaufort Middle School, Kian Kok Middle School, Kota Kinabalu High School, Pei Tsin High School, Sabah Chinese High School, Sabah Tshung Tsin Secondary School, SMJK Chung Hwa Tenom, Sung Siew Secondary School, Tawau St. Patrick Secondary School, Tawau Vocational College, and Tenom St. Anthony Secondary School.
These schools and vocational colleges sent 41 teams—with a total of one hundred students—to take part in intensive training on the first two days of the expo. On the third day, the teams competed in mBot Coding, and Games Making Competitions. All the participants were provided an opportunity to do advanced-level training courses in Taiwan, and the members of the winning teams were offered scholarships to do further study in Taiwan.
Ms. Charlin Chang, Director of the Education Division of TECO in Malaysia, was invited to attend the award ceremony. She thanked the organizers on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Taiwan, for all their efforts conducting the expo, and she expressed her appreciation to the representatives of the universities in Taiwan that participated in the expo for their dedication and enthusiasm. The expo was a great opportunity to introduce Taiwan’s excellent higher education to the local people. She congratulated the Malaysian students for their outstanding performances during the competition, and she encouraged them to study science and technology in Taiwan to expand their international vision, as well as enhancing their knowledge and skills.