In January 2019, the National Development Council approved the national strategic plan for regional innovation, to achieve the domestic regional developing balance. Accordingly, it encourages all sectors of the communities to engage and to support the relatively weak regions in Taiwan.
As the only one university in Taitung County, National Taitung University has also combined the second phase of the university social responsibility practice project (2020-2022) of the Ministry of Education with the regional innovation project of the A'tolan Amis community and launched the "Regional Innovation Project of A'tolan Style", in addition to assisting the local community as a role of consultant, and R&D.
Over the past 100 years, due to the type of local industry, it was difficult for the A'tolan Amis community to retain and attract young individuals. Consequently, result in rapid population loss, and also leave hidden worries for the future development of the Amis community.
Since 2019, the government has administratively entrusted the A'tolan Amis community with the use and management of more than 40 hectares of land located in A'tolan's traditional territory. The Eucalyptus trees, which were used as pulp raw materials and were originally planted on the land 30 years ago, are now an important foundation of the future development for the A'tolan Amis community.
The USR Project was hosted by Professor Dr. Xie Kunlin, Director of Office of Industrial Collaboration and Continuing Education Affairs in National Taitung University.
Through the coordination of Associate Professor Dr. Futuru C.L. Tsai of the Department of Public and Cultural Affairs, the professors from different disciplines of NTTU convened to discuss the needs of the A'tolan Amis community. The colleagues and the professors of several departments, with different expertise including biotechnology, leisure and tourism, digital media, and big data, assemble with the newly established Eastern Bio-Economy Center pilot plant of NTTU. All together are practicing university social responsibility. In just a few months, the project has obtained the preliminary foundation. For instance, successfully assisted the A'tolan Amis community to be supported from the National Development Council for the regional innovation project, handled the design of co-creation and co-learning courses between professors and students, and community young members, and aided in the development of eucalyptus products from the A'tolan Amis community, such as antibacterial sprays with antibacterial power of 99.9%, lozenges, droplets, tea bags, and related health foods.
Similar to other indigenous communities, Amis people of A'tolan Amis community still rely on traditional agriculture. After these local crops are harvested, most of them are sold directly to consumers without processing and packaging. To improve the current situation of the industry among A'tolan Amis people, the professors, the students, and the community members are as a team to exchange opinions and learn professional knowledge together. Furthermore, to cooperate with the Pilot Plant of east Bio-Economics NTTU, the Amis community will not only play the role of production but also have the knowledge and ability to take over the subsequent product. It will upgrade the products and form a win-win relationship between the A'tolan Amis community and the university. Furthermore, it will coach and cultivate relevant talents in the local community.
The USR team has been designing a practically oriented co-creation and co-learning courses to promote the "Regional Innovation Project of A'tolan Style" since the second semester in 2019. It allows the A'tolan Amis community to invite the NTTU students to join the learning exchanges of these newly created courses so that teachers and students in the university can learn about the theories and innovative ideas, which are closer to the needs of the local community. Meanwhile, through this plan, some of the existing courses in the university are transformed into local-oriented, so that participating teachers and students can have practical exercises and creative potential.
In the second semester in 2019, the USR team of National Taitung University designs different courses within several disciplines, including the Introduction to regional innovation, application design aesthetics, tourism management practices, and application design. All the courses required the students and the professors to work on local site exploring the A'tolan Amis lifestyle and understanding the history, culture, and the society of A'tolan Amis community.
The A'tolan USR project is based on the idea that encourages co-learning between the university and the local community, which allows the students and the professors to explore the local Amis history, culture, and society to understand the A'tolan Amis lifestyle. In another way, the local community could benefit from the professions of the university learning different knowledge. In terms of this process, the students' learning process is more practical to a problem-solving orientation.
In the beginning, the students were unfamiliar with the A'tolan Amis community, however, after a semester's training, they have many achievements. Through exploring the community and experiencing local workshops, they had the opportunity to learn from the Amis elders in the community. In terms of this process, the students have understood the ethos and the lifestyles among A'tolan Amis. Most of the students' term projects have been representing the spirits of A'tolan Amis style.
We believe in the future, " A'tolan Style '' along with the creativity of the students will generate and produce more great productions and sparking ideas for this land.