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International Environment Sustainable Development (IESD) program of NCU is awarded excellence in the accreditation of postgraduate programs by International Cooperation and Development Fund (Taiwan ICDF) in 2015, and this is the second time for IESD program to receive the award. IESD program was established in 2003, and 63 students from 18 different countries have studied in the program. Many IESD students return to their hometowns after graduation and devote what they have learned in Taiwan to their countries, which also enhances Taiwan’s cooperation and interaction with partner countries indirectly. To comply with government policy and develop the characteristics of NCU, IESD program was thus founded in 2003 under the College of Engineering. The program aims to recruit students from Southeast Asia and partner countries (in Central America and Africa). The curriculum of the program contains three major areas: Environmental Technology, Energy Technology and Policy, and Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). All courses are instructed in English, and faculty members are outstanding scholars from various fields. The objective of IESD program is seeking sustainable living for a better tomorrow. Dr. Jiunn-Chi Wu, Director of IESD program, has been in the program since the pioneering stage and has witnessed the program’s development “from zero to one.” “These international students fly thousand miles away from their hometowns to study in Taiwan. What they have faced is not simply the challenges of academic performances. They need more help in communication and life here. We really appreciate all faculty and staff of IESD program, who have made great devotions to the program as well as to the students,” said Dr. Wu. It is highly commendable that IESD students’ theses are usually related to their cultural backgrounds and concerned with the issues which their countries have confronted. Students’ theses examine the issues in their hometowns like wind power assessment for Bay Islands in Honduras, the feasibility of solar energy application in the villages in Belize, the management of waste from slaughterhouses in Nicaragua, the application of Landsat imagery in the urban development in Guatemala, the classification of forest tree species in Mongolia and so on. From their thesis topics, one can see IESD students’ strong sense of mission. “Till this year, there are 45 alumni of our program around the globe, and many of them are having influences in their own countries. For example, Mr. Yacouba Siko from Burkina Faso in West Africa is now the urban planner in the Ministry of Interior of Burkina Faso, and he is responsible for the planning project of building a new airport in his country. Mr. Oscar Mauricio Rodriguez Corrales from Honduras in Central America is now the coordinator of Resources and Information System Center in Universidad Metropolitana de Honduras, and he is in charge of the management and application of information and resources in the university. We are pleased to see that our alumni are making great contributions to their people and hometowns,” said Director Wu.
