The NTU Hydrotech Research Institute hosted international training in sloped land disaster reduction from August 5~15, with more than 38 participants from 16 countries participating, among whom were academics and public officials attending the 11 day short term training course. President Yang delivered special remarks August 5th at the opening ceremony, and expressed appreciation for the support of the Department of International Cooperation, National Science Council, for the program. National Taiwan University was pleased to share Taiwan’s extensive experience in sloped land disasters and preparedness, along with technical outreach, to the entire world. Among the distinguished guests present for the opening ceremony were: Minister of the Interior Professor Hung-Yuan Lee, National Science Council Department of International Cooperation Director Tsung-Tai Lin, International Consortium on Landslides (ICL) Dr. and Professor N.M.S.I Arambepola, International Consortium on Geo-Disaster Reduction (ICGDR) Professor Masakatsu Miyajima, and NTU Dean of Engineering Jia-Yush Yen. Minister Hung-Yuan Lee noted in his remarks that Taiwan suffers from sloped land disaster incidence much more frequently than the rest of the world as a result of our torrentuous rains, and thus our research in this area has developed world class responsive technologies and experience with sloped land disasters. Minister Lee humorously called upon the participants not to doubt his remarks, because prior to serving as Minister, he had already spent 27 years at the NTU Department of Civil Engineering and Hydrotech Research Institute as a Professor and Research Fellow. Two United Nations Organization officials noted that in recent years climate change had caused natural disasters around the world with ever greater frequency, and it is imperative to prevent sloped land disasters, but that few countries have the expertise to host this kind of training, so they hope Taiwan can continue to host more of these short term training courses.

The convenor of this summer’s international short course training, and Director of the NTU Hydrotech Research Institute, Professor Ko-Fei Liu, noted that slope land disaster prevention is among the critical tasks of the United Nations in recent years’ disaster prevention efforts, especially in Southeast Asia, and in the past three years, at least 5 countries have established national sloped land disaster organizations. But even with the establishment of such institutions, there remains a lack of technologies, know-how and skilled manpower, as well as knowledge about how to establish legal regulation, effectively use natural resources, and to deploy sustainable operations concepts to handle disasters. Taiwan already has outstanding success in handling sloped land disasters, and has both excellent technologies and rich experience, but as a result of not being a member of the United Nations, there are fewer opportunities in international organizations for sharing these technologies. NTU is pleased to have received funding for this event from the Department of International Cooperation, National Science Council, attracting 38 participating academics and public officials from 16 countries to participate in the program. Among those participating were a Lecturer at Japan’s Kyoto University, and academics from India and Bhutan, along with the Commander of the Thai National Sloped Land Disaster Prevention Program. Hosting this international short course, has not only helped establish NTU’s global reputation for leadership in the field of sloped land disaster prevention technology, but also provided great success in advancing our stimulation of domestic higher education offerings of international continuing education outreach. This training program not only helped promote Taiwan’s technological prowess abroad, but also allowed international experts to establish and maintain excellent relationships with us; the effort thus not only enhanced Taiwan’s cooperation and opportunities for exchange with other countries, but also advanced opportunities for our cooperation with international scientific organizations, and heightened Taiwan’s visibility in the international community.

This summer’s course was completed August 15, with an evening completion ceremony, affording all of the international participants with unforgettable memories of Taiwan during their stay.