[NEWS]Utah Students Visit Minghsin University of Science and Technology, Students Learn Chinese In and Outside of Class in 2-week Immersion Program

One hundred five high school students from Utah visited Minghsin University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Hsinchu County for a two-week intensive Chinese language and cultural immersion program.
According to a MUST press release, the trip is part of the university's efforts to deepen cooperation and exchange in the education sector between Taiwan and the U.S. and to enhance understanding of Chinese and Taiwanese culture among the students. The students mainly came from five high schools in Utah, Skyridge, Westlake, Lehi, Lone Peak, and Orem, and they have basic Chinese communication skills and are eager to learn more about Taiwan.
Upon arrival, the students were welcomed with a special ceremony held by MUST President Dr. Liu Kuo-wei (劉國偉), who spoke about the connection between Taiwan's semiconductor industry and the students' educational experience. Alan Heath, a teacher representing the study group, expressed his appreciation for the opportunities provided by MUST and said he was happy to be back in Taiwan.
In addition to Chinese language classes, the study group participated in cultural activities to improve their Chinese conversational skills. These activities included dancing with Indigenous students, participating in an English singing competition, and playing basketball with the university's basketball team. Students also participated in workshops to make traditional Taiwanese snacks such as scallion pancakes, pineapple cakes, and fragrance sachets of the Dragon Boat Festival.
The group also visited MUST's Semiconductor Talent Cultivation Base to learn about the key Chinese terminology used in the industry and observed the process of making semiconductor chips while using mixed-reality headsets to operate the factory systems.
The Office of International Affairs said the successful experience of the first Utah study tour last year created a ripple effect that attracted Parkland College in Illinois, U.S. to Taiwan to learn from the experience of the study tour. Two teachers were sent to observe and conduct site inspections and visit Taipei Municipal Zhong-zheng Senior High School (臺北市中正高中) and Hsinchu Kuang-Fu High School (新竹光復中學).
Parkland College is scheduled to arrange for a group of students to come to MUST next year to study, providing a combination of Chinese language teaching and semiconductor professional knowledge.
The group also visited the old town area of Chenghuang Temple (城隍廟) in Hsinchu to learn more about Taiwan's traditional culture and lifestyle as well as the history of Hsinchu. During the visit, participants used the Chinese they learned in the classroom to communicate with locals, shop, taste Hsinchu's temple food such as rice noodles, gongwan soup, and mango ice, and then go to the Big City shopping mall and Houjian night market to shop and become "one-day Hsinchuites".
The school said the group took advantage of the two weeks to practice their Chinese outside the classroom and interact with Taiwanese people.