“Cultivate the youth and elderly generation in suburban hills area, Tainan”- the international USR project of Chung Hwa University of Medical Technology, commits to developing circular economy in suburban area, initiating green therapy, taking care of the physical and mental health of the gray hair and sharing the experiences of Taiwan. The achievement of the project received recognition by winning the award of Hackthon of regional revitalization hold by National Development Council. We also participate in cooperation with different industries such as Jianshanpi Jiangnan Resort, Pao- Can Biomedical Company and Lin- Feng community.
Secret of circular economy in suburban area
Suburban area in Tainan is famous for its high- quality fruits and vegetables, so our team came up with a series of training under the concept of “circular economy” like smallholder agricultural product processing, agricultural waste utilization and reduction. For Example, extracting antioxidant ingredients from branches and leaves of wasted mountain soursop for face cream and lotion for “A- Muse” collection, launching the products in Lin- Feng- Ying cooperative store, Shih- An cooperative store which significantly enhances the refinement and high value of community industries. Teacher and students of Hwai USR team utilize the dropped fruit of dragon fruit, guava and mango to develop healthy and delicious frozen yogurt – S’more yogurt. Other than selling them in cooperative stores but discussing the cooperation with famous barbecue restaurant – Tan Zuo Ma Li, wished to level up USR to CSR, and enhance social value and brand at the same time.
Soothing Green Power of prosperous land
Traditional agriculture in suburban area is facing crisis due to aging population, so our team set up the goal of “soothing power of creativity, innovation of rural area”, assisting Yu- Jing District to create the regional revitalization project of “Meet the art on the path of revitalization” to bring the youth and elderly to join “Green Workshop” and encourage the elderly to sell their planting work based in community, starting the second career with smoothing green power.
Having a day trip in suburban area on days off is what people who live in city kneed? On. Hwai USR team combined creativity, popular science, literature, and film and designed various day tours which includes local cuisine menu with local products. We have gotten more than 20 different dishes within various menu, including Mango state banquet menu of Yu- Jing District, Lotus seeds menu of Bai- He District following with Yu- Jing Mango Trail Run, Bai- He Lotus Seed Festival and other activities. We promote meander in suburban area, shorten the distance between the city and the countryside, make the rural industry earn more.
Health- care network of suburban hills area
The young people in suburban area have moved out, and the health of elderly living alone has become an issue. Our team uses the "guardian of the house: IOT mobile health inspection vehicle" and the health cloud system to conduct physiological tests and data analysis in the "no medical village", with Grayed- hair Health Secretary, to create a customized smart long- term care system for the elderly. Meanwhile, in cooperation with HACCP food manufacturers, we have developed several instant care packages designed for the elderly to let elderly people live alone to "eat at ease" and build a "all-round grayed-hair care network.
International influence of experiences within Taiwan
Although the pandemic of Covid-19 affects multinational affairs, sharing the local experiences of Taiwan would never stop; the foreign students who stay in Taiwan became the essential seeds for Hwai USR project to spread internationally in the future. We held the Event-Summer Camp 2020, and gathered foreign students from 7 different universities of southern Taiwan, with the theme of cultural exchange, job accommodation, regional revitalization, and health- care, making a proposal based on universal design. Additionally, the arrangement of the foreign students visiting suburban hill area simulates the exchange of regional revitalization between the returning youth and the oversea students. The two sessions of the event with good feedback included 53 international students from 7 different countries: Indonesia, India, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Turkmenistan, Tanzania. Dr. Ymir Garcia, from Mandaluyong, Philippines, said that he has gained a lot of valuable experience in Summer camp 2020. Whether it is job accommodation, regional revitalization, medical simulation facilities and other experiences in Taiwan, it can be used in the Philippines community and medical teaching system in the future.
Hwai USR team also continued the educational exchange with Japan and the Philippines through remote meetings, and hosted the Volunteer for Change: International Volunteering Experience Seminar to invite Dr. Teodoro J. Herbosa, Executive Vice President of the University of the Philippines as well as Dr. Wu Ying-Ming, Executive Director of the Kaohsiung executive director of Edu-Connect Southeast Asia Association and Lin Ming- Nan, deputy director of Dalin Tzu-Chi Hospital, Chiayi, held a multinational forum to discuss international volunteer training programs in the post-epidemic era along with sharing Taiwan’s experience in fighting the epidemic.
Internally, this project will go deeply into suburban hill area and assist the sustainable development of the rural areas through circular economy, green industry, and medical care; externally, the medical profession of the school will be used as a medium to promote the international diffusion of experience. The teachers and students of this team appreciate the support from Ministry of Education, as well as the software and hardware support of the industry, government, education and research partners. Of course, we are also grateful to the national and local governments for their recognition and awards. We will continue to work hard to make suburban care become the Highlights of Chung Hwa University of Medical University brand.