Opening Day Ceremony and Orientation Camp Welcome New Students

The university formally welcomed this year's new undergraduate and graduate students to begin the 2017/2018 academic year at the NTU Opening Day Ceremony on August 31. Following the grand event, the first group of students scheduled to attend the NTU Orientation Camp proceeded to attend the opening ceremony for the four-day orientation program.

The Opening Day Ceremony started with the rousing sound of the students practicing singing the university song. NTU Interim President Ching-Ray Chang (張慶瑞), the participating administrators, and faculty members joined the students in wearing this year's custom-designed shirt for new students.

NTU presented the shirts to the students as gifts of good fortune. The design of the shirts was chosen from among student submissions by a vote of the NTU student body. Combining iconic campus scenes with common memories of the NTU community, the shirt's design concept aims to send a message of encouragement for students to always remember the original passion and optimism with which they first entered the NTU campus.

Addressing the new students, Interim President Chang suggested a study attitude of hard work, admitting one's mistakes, and conceding defeat. Chang also reminded the students that, during their university years, especially at NTU, absorbing knowledge from their classmates in a process called peer learning would be the single most important thing in their lives, and that they should cherish this and strive to learn more from their friends.

After the Opening Day Ceremony, Vice President for Student Affairs Cheryl Chia-Hui Chen (陳佳慧) welcomed the first group of students to the Opening Ceremony of the NTU Orientation Camp, setting them at ease with her light-hearted, humorous approach. The camp is designed to help new students adjust to their new lives as university students and begin making friends and learning about campus resources.

The university organizes two Orientation Camp programs with the same agenda of activities in order to accommodate the large number of new students. Students are assigned to one of the two programs based on which college they would enter. The second group of students began their orientation the following week on September 6.