06/17/2017．2017 Graduation Ceremony Speech from President Shieu-ming Chou, D.S.N.

 

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  　 　 　 view:        June 17, 2017              Chairperson of Board of Trustees, Teresa KU, distinguished parents, guests and graduating students. Congratulations and welcome to today’s graduation ceremony.         First of all, I would like to thank you all for being here today. As parents, it must be an anxious time when you entrust a school with your children. You must let them go off and be independent, as they mature in their development and education. Today, with the hopes of a bright future and fortunate blessings, we see these children graduate. Today is also a historic one, as it is the first time our graduation ceremony was to be held outside, however due to the rain, it had to be moved indoors. I hope that it will be a day that you always remember.        Since the establishment of the school, we have practiced respect for personal dignity, acceptance of individual differences, cultivating each student’s personal potential and the development of good ideals. We encourage our students to embrace multiculturalism and develop an international point-of-view. Here students attain professional knowledge and excellent language skills. Wenzao is one of Taiwan’s only foreign language universities and for the past 50 years it has been the only university in Taiwan that is completely focused on foreign language development. It exhibits a spirit of life, language and leadership. We also have a devoted faculty. Enthusiastic efforts also continue to be bestowed on us from the elders of the school. Over the last year, Wenzao has been distinguished with the following recognition and honors:        In Cheers Magazine 2017 Best University Guides, Wenzao was ranked as      * First in global perspective and foreign language proficiency among technical and vocational colleges.      * First in greatest amount of overseas exchange student experience in South of universities.      * Second in graduates being sought after by enterprises in Southern Taiwan.      * Third in school with the most of foreign exchange students among technical and vocational colleges.        In the 1111 Job Bank’s 2017 rankings of leading universities that are favored by businesses Wenzao was distinguished as first private university in southern Taiwan that employers were most satisfied with and out of 87 national and private technical schools, Wenzao also came first in the categories of communications and foreign languages.        As Wenzao is Taiwan’s only foreign language university that also develops students’ international perspective, the school has become one of the most recognized institutions in the country. Over the years, the curriculum design and teaching focus has consistently been developed in order to better its foreign language and vocational education. I believe that you all now have the core competencies needed for your future careers. More importantly, you have the ability to bring your skills to the world and make Taiwan proud. With your international perception, in such a rapidly changing world, I believe you all will be competent, key players in the international community.         According to Global Views Monthly May Edition, the global trend this year includes an increasing web economy, cloud data management and storage and industry 4.0. In the article entitled, "Five seconds to decide if your future career will be replaced by a robot", it states that if a person can complete a task within five seconds, yet it includes a great deal of thought or decision-making skills, then there is a greater chance that artificial intelligence technology will partially or completely replace these jobs. It estimates that 50% of today’s jobs that are carried out by people could be replaced by artificial intelligence in the future. With such challenges being at the forefront, education must be geared to help its people overcome. A greater quality and higher class of education must assist students in finding opportunities to develop more complex and varied careers, which require a more knowledgeable, creative and cultivated workforce. Areas where this can be developed include the arts, technology and leadership. Education must also teach ways humans and computers can collaborate with new skills and work opportunities. The service industry also has the opportunity to expand and education can also focus on this type of training. Graduates also need to be mindful to not just seek out work because it is “stable” because "stability" often means simple and repetitive and therefore jobs that are at a higher risk of being replaced by a machine. These days understanding the past and being an excellent student is no longer enough. Continue to develop yourself through education in order to become a richer and more competitive person that will thrive in an era of innovation. Believe that God will never give us too much to deal with and that he will always be there to answer our prayers. Never be afraid of developing your own careers and never be afraid of failure. If you stand up to these challenges, you will learn more, have a greater future vision and be more resilient.        I always call you the precious. It’s not just a word, it is a lifetime commitment to you. Today you are graduating and now with your acquired education you are ready to pursue your dreams. Whether you plan to continue your education, seek out employment or go abroad, you will sometimes encounter difficulties and setbacks. Through it all, remember you always have a home in Kaohsiung and at Wenzao. Always feel free to come and visit us. After graduation we hope you become like a kite and reach great heights. However, like all kites there is a string attached. We hope you will often come back and visit us. We also hope that you will join our alumni association and continue our great Wenzao legacy.       Finally, with our blessings we hope you can spread your wings of life and fly into a beautiful future. Always remember to have great courage when you deal with challenges that you meet along the way and never forget to create happiness in your lives. Once again congratulations to you all. God bless you!