[NEWS]The Kick-off Meeting was Held by the Saisiyat Knowledge Research Center to Open a Milestone in Aboriginal Education

Minghsin University of Science and Technology(明新科技大學) has established the SaySiyat Knowledge Research Center(賽夏族知識研究中心) under the funding by the Council of Indigenous Peoples(原住民族委員會, CIP). On March 8, 2023, a project kick-off meeting was held on campus, chaired by President and principal investigator Liu Kuo-wei(劉國偉). The project involves collaboration among industry, government, and academia to work together with the SaySiyat People in promoting indigenous education and cultural development.

President Liu said that with the support and guidance of the CIP, we have established the Aboriginal Education Development Office(原住民族教育發展處) as Level 1 agency in the country. The project aims to gain a deeper understanding of the cultural heritage of the aboriginal tribes and find solutions to related issues through academic research. The purpose of the kick-off meeting was to preliminarily discuss the composition of the SaySiyat knowledge framework, which is critical to the classification and application of indigenous knowledge in the future.

Dean tiwaS.tara(林杏) of the Aboriginal Education Development Office mentioned that according to the “Education Act for Indigenous Peoples(原住民族教育法)”, the CIP is promoting "The Long-term Project for the Construction of Educational and Cultural Knowledge System of Indigenous Peoples(建構原住民族教育文化知識體系中長程計畫)". In 2022, officially launched "The 2022-2023 Program for Establishing Indigenous Knowledge Research Centers in Colleges and Universities in Taiwan(111至112年度補助大專院校設置原住民族知識研究中心計畫)", providing funding for the establishment of the "SaySiyat Knowledge Research Center" at MUST. The research project aims to construct the indigenous knowledge system and consolidate the core values of SaySiyat culture.

In addition to industry, government, and academia, the meeting also invited tribal elders and representatives from Saisiyat National Council(賽夏族民族議會), The Association for the Promotion of Saisiyat People's Culture, Miaoli County(苗栗縣賽夏族文化推展協會), The Association for the Education of Indigenous Peoples, Hsinchu County(新竹縣原住民族教育協會) etc., from various Saisiyat groups to attend. Before the meeting began, President Liu presented letters of appointment to four "collaborative team" schools (Wufeng Junior High School and Elementary School in Hsinchu County, Penglai Elementary School and Donghe Elementary School in Miaoli County), and 17 "consulting committee" experts and scholars from different fields, who will work together to promote SaySiyat indigenous education and cultural inheritance and development.

The SaySiyat Knowledge Research Center at MUST will construct indigenous knowledge through fieldwork and applied science. In the future, the knowledge can be extended and applied to the unique industries of SaySiyat culture, promoting innovation in indigenous education. (Data provided by the Aboriginal Education Development Office)