My experiences at National Chiao Tung University

After working in Vietnam for a few years, I decided to continue my studies and start applying for a master scholarship. At that time a colleague of mine had just graduated from National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) and advised me to apply to this school because of his good experiences at NCTU. I decided to apply to EECS program I had accepted. I started my journey as a Master student in 2016.
When I come to Taiwan and started my studying I have found a lot of interesting aspects at this university.

 1. The good atmosphere for studying and research

The school has a long history and is considered as one of the best universities in Taiwan. Back in 1896, it was founded under the Qing Dynasty as the Nanyang Public School. After historic events, the school was re-established at Hsinchu in 1958 to take its original name along with the Shanghai Jiaotong University.


Nestled in a large hill area surrounded by trees is a quiet space for study. This is a fresh and academic space for about 12000 students. 


In addition, it also has a lake at the entrance 



The special about this school is that the vast majority of students are grad, about 65% of overall, show a very high concentration of research. The school has high quality of infrastructure such as laboratories, supported facilities and high speed internet system. The 24-hour information service center provides printing and other office services, and it also provides licensed software that you can download through your personal account. 
Professors are always encouraging students to focus on research and have weekly seminars to check on the progress of student's works. I can learn a lot from my peers within seminars. We can discuss and and get support from our adviser. 

2. The library

The school library is the place packed by students with a large number of books. I like the quiet here, especially when I have to prepare for the exam. The 1st floor library offers a  number of CDs / DVDs in a variety of contents, and also introduces new books and comics for audiences. On the first floor also exhibits small works of art: paintings, photographs or other fine art. This site also has a 3D printing service that my lab mate used to print his EEG headset. 



The second floor is the place to display new types of newspapers and magazines. The 3rd floor has a lot of Chinese books. The 4th floor is the place that I come frequently because I can find a figure for English books here. The 6th floor is the place to find a lot of thesis and dissertations that is archived by the University. The library also suggests private work space and discussion cabins for those who needed, but you have to book it on the library website and can use it for 15 days. The 7th floor contains many books of various types, and there is a beautiful miniature wooden building located here.



NCTU library contains a large number of books and variety and it is always up-to-date with new books. In fact, the library has a very high standard of facilities and operating systems. Although e-books are now popular and easy to find online, I occasionally go to the library to borrow some books needed.

3. Sport activities

Sport and physical activites at NCTU is very active in my point of view. You can join in an any basketball group at the NCTU  or a badminton and table tennis group here. The quite common sport at NCTU could be baseball or basketball.


Vietnamese students at NCTU participate in many sports such as table tennis, badminton, football. Every year, the Vietnamese Student Association in Taiwan organizes sports events throughout Taiwan with the participation of most of the students studying at universities in Taiwan.



 I participated in the table tennis team, because I like playing this kind of sport when I were in Vietnam. We have a group of table tennis and always welcome new member to join with us.

4. Seminar

At National Chiao Tung University, it is a good thing that seminars or meetings with experts take place very often. The school invites scientists, businesses, or politicians to talk about a variety of topics. This is a great thing in the university environment because it creates connections between students with real work and the life outside the university. The topics of the talk are varied, ranging from very intensive research issues to living art issues.


There are also other topics such as economics, policy, etc. The academic environment at NCTU is dynamic and continuously promoted through activities like this.


These seminars are all good opportunities for students to update to new ideas as well as experiences from people who are active and influential in all disciplines and fields, both academic and industry. Updating and linking research with key experts is crucial things that we can get from these activities. At seminar, we can talk directly with speakers who are professors at world-class universities in the world, or with business leaders in the technology field. It can provide an potential orientation for students in the future work. 




NCTU EECS has a seminar called Seminar that asks students to attend and write a report. The reports will summarize the main content at the seminar. This is a great way to practice writing and summarizing information in English that is very practical and in a very reality way rather than language lessons.

5. Open house, events

It is easy to find that vocational and school-industry activities are very good at National Chiao Tung University. Twice a year, schools and businesses hold large-scale meetings called the Open House on the school grounds with the participation of a figure for businesses and the vast majority of students are admitted to work immediately after graduation.




There are also a lot of interesting events that take place over years


Night market events at NCTU



6. Chinese

Learning foreign languages is always an enjoyable experience. I go to Taiwan with a zero Chinese, but I love to learn Chinese. 



NCTU provides very good courses to learn Chinese. I learned from our beloved teacher Vickie Zheng two times, she is very enthusiastic and always help us throughout the course.








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