The University Social Responsibility (USR) project at the university aims to assist in the sustainable development of urban and rural areas through humanistic care. In addition to ongoing research and innovation in their respective fields, faculty and students should actively engage with local socio-economic and industrial development. The goal is to transfer knowledge to the public and contribute to the prosperity and development of the local community, thereby fulfilling the concept of University Social Responsibility.
The university has a longstanding focus on the issue of elderly individuals living alone. Since 1997, visits to solitary elderly residents in the Xinyi District have been conducted under the auspices of various departments. Starting from 2017, the university has undertaken the USR project, integrating professional courses into the visits. This initiative involves students engaging in caring visits to the homes of the elderly, gradually expanding to community-based activities. The objective is to provide health promotion and functional improvement for solitary and community-dwelling seniors while transforming the role of elderly individuals into active learners, thereby enhancing their self-worth.
Throughout the project execution, various issues are explored each year, expanding the scope of service, introducing different health-related topics, breaking the existing interaction patterns between the younger and older generations, constructing cohabitation programs, and expanding the focus to include dementia issues in the current project phase. By introducing innovative solutions each year and mobilizing social and local resources, the project aims to empower local communities, extend their concern to various groups and issues, and enhance the overall age-friendly soft power in the Xinyi District, jointly building a friendly hometown.
Adhering to the core values of the university, in 2017, a long-term care new prescription was initiated to pilot the USR project: Cross-domain Integration Empowers Community Life Networks. In the following years (2018-2019), the project continued with the Precision Long-Term Care New Prescription, aiming to build an age-friendly cross-domain aggregation community empowerment network. Subsequently (2020-2021), the project continued with the Metropolitan Long-Term Care and Youthful Silver Prosperity: Constructing the 101 International Retirement City Project. In the years 2022-2023, the focus shifted to Metropolitan Long-Term Care and Youthful Silver Creation Sustainability: Constructing the 101 Ecological Circle Project, using the Xinyi Metropolitan area as a base. The project involves continuous exploration of long-term care issues in the community, integrating interdisciplinary resources, and emphasizing the university's social responsibility by cultivating talents in aging and long-term care, aligning with international standards, and creating a friendly and sustainable cycle.
The current project is structured around 'One Grand Vision,' 'Two Micro Programs,' 'Three Major Targets,' 'Four Strategies,' and 'Five Plans' to construct the 101 Age-Friendly Health and Dementia-Friendly Ecological Circle. The vision aims to spread the seeds of sustainable aging in the community, fostering age-friendly and empowering local regeneration at the personal, organizational, and societal levels. The micro programs involve the construction of talent development pathways through Long-Term Care and Health Promotion micro programs, focusing on solitary elderly residents, individuals with dementia, and young-senior partners as the main interactive targets. The strategies emphasize collaborative curriculum development, shared environments, evidence-based sharing, and technological integration, resulting in five plans: Smart Technology for Health Creation, Young-Senior Co-Creation for Local Development, Health Care for Ecological Creation, Dementia Care for Friendly Environments, and Sustainable Development through International Partnerships. The project aims to introduce diverse and comprehensive health promotion modules into the community, utilizing interactive models to assist elderly and solitary residents, as well as dementia patients, in preventing and delaying disabilities, collectively creating a healthy, sustainable, and friendly environment.
