In continuation of the operation for the Engineers in Action program for the past three years, Taiwan Tech students and the Iyo tribe from Nan’ao, Yilan County, rebuilt a traditional Atayal house and held a beam-raising ceremony at Dong’ao elementary school on June 27th. The whole construction is led by the revered Atayal artisan along with Taiwan Tech students. The construction period is expected to be four weeks.

The Atayal bonfire house will allow Iyo tribe adolescents and children to be in contact with their traditional past and introduce the Taiwanese public to the wonders of Atayal tradition. Furthermore, the Atayal house in construction will become the assembly room for tribe assemblies and traditional culture classes once finished.

Taiwan Tech stated that the Atayal House would be a combination of Atayal wisdom and modern technology. The primary characteristic is an air pollution detector which could detect PM2.5, carbon monoxide, temperature, and humidity in the air. The device was developed and donated from NCU USR program director Dr. Sheng-Hsiang Wang. Moreover, “Engineers in Action” installed an EEWS(Early Earthquake Warning System) provided by Sanlien Technology Corp. in consideration for the common occurrence of earthquakes across the regions of Yilan County. The data recorded from both devices will be automatically uploaded into a cloud database to contribute to Dong’ao elementary school the necessary resources for disaster prevention and environmental education, engendering a community fitting of sustainable development goals.

The Ministry of Education(MoE) pushed for University Social Responsibility(USR) goals by sponsoring the Taiwan Tech “Engineers in Action '' program since 2017. By now, “Engineers in Action” students have gone to various cities and remote areas in Taiwan and even to Southeast Asia along with Indonesian and Vietnamese sister university staff and students to improve environmental issues at the local level. Over the past years, Taiwan Tech students have installed an ecosystem pond, a flying fish sculpture, an aquaponic system, and more for the Iyo tribe.

Taiwan Tech Vice Principal and “Engineers in Action” program director Ji-Cheng Liu stated that Taiwan Tech had originally invited sister universities from Indonesia and Vietnam to participate in the restoration of the Atayal house. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, all plans have been postponed to a later date. As for this year, the “Engineers in Action” industriously participated and learned the traditional ways of Atayal.

From the start of the year, Taiwan Tech “Engineers in Action” Program, NCU “To cultivate a sustainable coastal environment and develop a prosperous local community through the integration of “Ecology,” “Living,” and “Economy” for the Taoyuan county” program, and San Lien Technology Corp. has signed a memorandum of understanding(MOU). The MOU expressed gratitude to NCU and San Lien Technology Corp. for donations such as air pollution indicators and an EEWS(Early Earthquake Warning System) which the “Engineers in Action” students will install in the Atayal house.

Once the beam-raising came to an end, Taiwan Tech “Engineers in Action” staff and students and Dong’ao elementary school principal Wu Chengmin invited delegates of Taiwan Tech Alumni Association, NCU Department of Atmospheric Sciences, and San Lien Technology Corp. to write their names on the main beam of the Atayal house to conclude the ceremony.