Leveraging Communication and Finance Advantages to Cultivate Interdisciplinary Talents
With the rapid development of Information Technology (IT) and its expanding applications in fields like digital finance, streaming, and smart manufacturing, the demand for cross-disciplinary talent is increasing globally. This signifies that cross-disciplinary learning and practical application are essential. Over a decade ago, National Chengchi University (NCCU) planned to establish a College of Information, which was officially approved by the Ministry of Education on July 22, 2021.
NCCU moved its Department of Computer Science, Digital Content and Technology Bachelor’s Program, and the International Graduate Ph.D. Program in Social Network and Intelligence Computing from the College of Science to the new College of Information. The establishment of this college marks a milestone for NCCU, combining IT with its strengths in liberal arts, business, and social sciences to create a unique identity, aiming to nurture cross-disciplinary talent for Taiwan.
Dean of the College of Information and Director of the Computer Center, Dr. Hu, stated that while many universities have departments or colleges of electrical engineering or information technology, focusing mainly on traditional IT fields like chip design, NCCU, known for its strength in communication and finance, will combine these advantages with its newly established IT programs. This will help cultivate information technology talent that differs from the traditional focus of engineering universities.
Aligning with International Trends to Cultivate Cross-domain Talent
Dr. Hu stated that while many universities have colleges of electrical engineering or information technology, they mainly focus on traditional IT hardware and software fields. After the establishment of the College of Information at NCCU, it will combine its strengths in communication and finance to cultivate cross-disciplinary IT talent distinct from those in traditional engineering universities.
The main development goals of the College of Information are to advance research, teaching, and application of IT, covering areas such as artificial intelligence, big data analysis, information security, mobile communications, and the Internet of Things (IoT). The college aims to offer interdisciplinary courses for students from non-IT backgrounds, nurturing the next generation of professionals with the ability to integrate applied IT skills with expertise in other fields. It also seeks to foster cross-disciplinary research and integration among faculty, positioning NCCU to lead the digital era in humanities and social sciences and create a long-term niche in the knowledge economy.
In the rapidly evolving digital technology landscape, artificial intelligence and big data analysis have become global trends. The College of Information’s goal is to promote cross-disciplinary collaboration, actively working with other colleges on projects such as digital learning with the College of Education, technology ethics and privacy protection with the College of Law, and new digital media influence with the College of Communication. Notably, leveraging NCCU’s existing strengths in humanities, law, business, and social sciences, the college plans to establish a Bachelor’s Program in AI Applications.
Dr. Hu also mentioned that the short-term goals of the College of Information focus on multiple fields such as information security, global communication, and international finance. These include a proposed Master’s Program in Information Security and Personal Data Protection in collaboration with the College of Law and a Global Communication and Innovative Technology Master’s Program developed with four colleges, including the College of Communication. In terms of social responsibility, the college will focus on information theory and technology to drive social innovation, addressing societal issues by integrating people, society, and IT. This initiative aims to create a social impact and contribute to the university’s social responsibility goals. Regarding talent development, the college will merge IT with NCCU’s existing academic strengths in humanities, law, business, communication, education, international affairs, and social sciences, creating a unique international model for integrating people, IT, and society. Through professional IT training and cross-disciplinary learning, students will acquire the ability to bridge specialties, disciplines, and perspectives.
Launching a New Master’s Program in Global Communication and Innovative Technology
With the continuous emergence of new media, the global demand for new communication talent is rising. In response, under the leadership of President Kuo Ming-Jeng, National Chengchi University (NCCU) will establish Taiwan’s first cross-disciplinary, international degree program aimed at cultivating comprehensive new media communication talent—the “Master’s Program in Global Communication and Innovative Technology” (Global Innovation Master’s, or GIM). The program will enroll 60 master’s students annually, with half being international students and the other half local students. The program’s focus will include humanities, social literacy, new media, and media-related IT. Scholarships will be offered to students to serve as a bridge for Taiwan to make its voice heard and be seen on the global stage.
In recent years, the rapid growth of global social media has highlighted problems that traditional communication channels cannot solve, which require the integration of communication, innovative technology, and international practices. The Global Innovation Master’s program is a pragmatic course that balances academics with practical skills. It will integrate three areas: digital media, technological innovation, and local socio-political and cultural awareness, cultivating students with a cross-disciplinary, cross-national perspective in humanities, social sciences, and information communication.
To meet the international market’s demand for digital technology communication talent, the program will bring together the strengths of NCCU’s College of Communication, College of Liberal Arts, College of Law, College of International Affairs, and the newly established College of Information. This collaboration will offer a new series of courses, incorporating international faculty and creating practical learning experiences to cultivate digital innovation talent needed in various fields.
Dr. Hu emphasized that this program combines top-tier faculty from various colleges, focusing on international connections and local cultural awareness. Courses will be taught in both Chinese and English, with international students required to have a certain level of Chinese proficiency. For internships, students will have the opportunity to work with well-known media organizations, international non-profits, and public/private sectors in both Taiwan and abroad for six months, with funding provided by the Ministry of Culture.
Additionally, as fake news becomes more prevalent and there are incidents of organizations using social platforms to gather data through psychological tests, one of the goals of this program is to address these issues. In the future, NCCU may collaborate with Google to verify the authenticity of news in real-time and establish labs to help the industry combat the spread of fake news.
Widespread AI Applications: NCCU Cultivates AI Talent
In addition to the establishment of the College of Information and the Master’s Program in Global Communication and Innovative Technology, National Chengchi University (NCCU) recognizes the rapid advancement of technology and software-hardware integration. Artificial Intelligence (AI), once limited to theoretical research, has quickly spread to various aspects of daily life, becoming the core of smart services. In response to this trend, Professor Zuo Rui-Lin from the College of Information has planned to create a new university-level administrative unit, the “Center for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Education,” combining AI research and teaching. Pending approval from the university council, the center is expected to be established in February 2022.
The center’s core objective is to integrate AI technology with NCCU’s strengths in humanities, law, business, and social sciences, enabling students from non-IT-related departments, as well as those from affiliated universities like Taiwan University of Technology, to learn foundational AI skills through interactive online education. This initiative aims to better prepare students for AI-related careers in the future.
The center’s operations will focus on three areas: AI, digital education, and databases. In terms of AI, the focus will be on diverse AI services, interdisciplinary teaching, and industry-academic research. Collaborations with various NCCU departments will be encouraged, such as using AI for legal document analysis in the law field or applying AI to fintech in the business field. In the database area, AI will be used to further analyze the existing digital content databases, making them more accessible to faculty, students, and researchers.
In digital education, the center plans to offer free online AI courses starting in the second half of 2021 to provide students with independent learning opportunities. Additionally, two courses taught by center researchers will be offered in the first semester of the 2021 academic year: “Applications of Python and Natural Language Processing” by Dr. Liang Shao-Fen in the College of International Affairs and “Introduction to Programming” by Dr. Huang Qi-Xian in the General Education Center. The course difficulty will be designed considering the capabilities of non-technical students, aiming to help them develop practical AI skills through hands-on exercises.
Dr. Hu explained that under the Ministry of Science and Technology’s push for AI innovation research centers, four universities in Taiwan have already established AI-related research and application centers, covering core AI technologies, biotech healthcare, smart manufacturing, and smart services. He added, “NCCU’s Center for AI and Digital Education aims to create a curriculum distinct from other AI centers, integrating AI courses with NCCU’s unique focus on humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. We hope this center will receive support from the Ministry of Science and Technology and become Taiwan’s fifth AI center, expanding our development and influence in the AI field.
Leveraging AI-Stack to Expand the Benefits of the AI Environment
Director Hu Yuchung also mentioned that the primary mission of the NCCU Computing Center is to support teaching and research by providing computer hardware and software, digital campus services, administrative computerization, digital learning, technical consulting, and training promotion. Given the widespread application of AI and deep learning technologies across various fields, including transportation, finance, healthcare, and manufacturing, many departments have started offering related courses. To support this, the Computing Center has introduced advanced NVIDIA GPU-accelerated computing equipment to create a stable and efficient AI learning environment to meet the research and teaching needs of different departments. This setup not only helps professors speed up research progress in their fields using deep learning capabilities but also gives students early exposure to hands-on AI experience.
According to the data provided by the Computing Center, the performance of AI servers in deep learning is 72 times faster than traditional CPU servers. Compared to a 20-node Spark server cluster, the speed of analyzing large datasets is more than 100 times faster, processing over 30,000 images per second. This makes the system suitable for deep learning training, inference, and other tasks, and supports the needs of projects such as the AI and Digital Education Center and Big Data Laboratory.
Director Hu stated that the demand for AI projects within the university is very high, and there is a need for a solution that maximizes the efficiency of AI servers while simplifying equipment maintenance. After evaluation and testing, the Computing Center adopted the AI-Stack solution from Digital Infinitix and Pinnacle Technology. This solution allows the AI needs of different departments to be met. Currently, the GPU-supported teaching and research cloud supports various mainstream development environments, and with its graphical user interface, users with different technical skills can quickly access the resources they need, greatly helping to promote AI projects.
As NCCU continues to establish new programs, the Computing Center will continue to collect feedback and requirements from various departments, expanding the computational power of the AI environment to meet the needs of different research projects and learning requirements.
