From 1 -5 July 2024, the Center for General Education (CGE) of Taiwan Tech launched its first STREAM Immersive Summer School. This program combines perspectives of the Taiwan Tech Liberal Arts program with Taiwan Tech’s technological excellence. 15 Taiwan Tech members of faculty, together with 36 students from different Taiwan Tech’s departments, joined hands with local organizations to develop a unique cross-disciplinary curriculum is based on the CGE concept of STREAM education which combines STEM education with a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math with Reading (critical literacies) and Art.The result was compelling journey through the South Side Area around Taiwan Tech, combining humanities, technology, and social practice. 

Taiwan Tech's South Side College STREAM Immersive Summer School offers a unique experience for high school students during the summer vacation.

Sy-Ying Lee, Director of Taiwan Tech's Center for General Education stated, “We want to encourage students to transcend disciplinary boundaries and consider our societal environment from a humanistic perspective. We want them to reflect on our responsibilities as members of society, recognizing that each individual plays a crucial role and foster social innovative thinking.”The theme of this summer school, “City Dweller Style”, featured eleven of “STREAM” classes and activities, blending sustainability concepts and interdisciplinary skills with local engagement. Students conducted field research at five South Side "learning sites", i.e. Jiahe New Village 嘉禾新村, Treasure Hill 寶藏巖 Toad Hill蟾蜍山, Fanglan Mountain 芳蘭山, and Huaxin Street 華新街. 

Professor Mei-Fang Shih (2nd from right in the back row) guided students to explore Huaxin Street, delving into local culture through its distinctive cuisine

Taiwan Tech opened its labs for the partcipants the summer school partcipants to  explore technology hands-on

Participant Kuan-Ting Kuo from Taipei Municipal Chengyuan High School shared her experiences: “I really enjoyed this camp. Although Taiwan Tech is a technical university, I realized the value of social humanities here. Human connections are essential, and it reassures me that choosing the humanities stream  was the right decision for me ”.
Another participant , Shao-Hsin Kang from Taipei City Municipal Zhongzheng Senior High School said, “I enjoyed meeting students from all over Taiwan during the summer camp, and everyone had unique perspectives.”

 On the last day, students shared their results in impressive final presentations 

On the last day of the summer school, students presented their results. The quality of the final presentations was beyond expectations. Professor Meng-Yao Gao from the Department of Chemical Engineering, who mentored green energy projects, said, “Seeing the students' proposals made me understand how our learning can contribute to sustainable development, waste reuse, and solving local problems. It was truly touching.”

Taiwan Tech students served as teaching assistants, guiding participants in exploring technology and discussing proposals.

The summer school provided growth opportunities for everyone involved. Taiwan Tech students turned out to be exceptional teaching assistants, guiding the young high-school students through lessons, technology learning, and group discussions, and leading students step by step to come up with proposals and complete the final proposal for publication.
Yu-Lin Zhang, a sophomore from the Department of Information Management, said, “I'm very happy to have met and worked with teachers and partners from different fields and accomplished something together through this summer school. It was a wonderful experience.”

Taiwan Tech students with Professor Hsiu-Chin Hung from the Centre for General Education (middle front, right-hand side), the main project coordinator of this year's summer school

Taiwan Tech's South Side College STREAM Immersive Summer School looks forward to continuing its integration of humanities and technology, expanding university-local collaborations, and partnering to create meaningful, socially impactful learning experiences.