To celebrate its 70th anniversary, National Taiwan Normal University announced today that President Chang Kuo-en will lead 70 teachers and students in batches to successfully summit Taiwan’s highest peak, “Yushan Main Peak,” in mid-May. This mountaineering activity aims to put the university’s flipped education philosophy into practice.

The university’s Department of Physical Education and the Department of Civic Education and Leadership Activities collaborated on this initiative. Last year, they selected 70 participants from 200 applicants across the university—individuals with experience and a spirit of challenge. Many professors among them had never climbed a high mountain before, making this feat nearly deemed impossible.

Lin Mei-chun, organizer of the event and head of the Department of Physical Education at National Taiwan Normal University, said that Yushan is not only Taiwan’s highest peak but also the tallest in Northeast Asia. It carries the nostalgia of the Taiwanese people. Climbing Yushan is not just about mental fortitude, self-challenge, self-reflection, and enduring hardship—it can be described as a monumental act of self-affirmation.

National Taiwan Normal University stated that, unlike activities outsourced to commercial mountaineering groups, the climbing team has been undergoing muscle endurance and physical training planned by the Department of Physical Education since January this year. In March, they began foundational mountaineering skills courses, followed by weighted training on Qixing Mountain in April, and finally a continuous 1.5-hour jogging test. Throughout the process, safety education courses and promotions of natural ecological conservation concepts were integrated to instill a strong safety awareness among climbers.

Among the 70 participants, President Chang Kuo-en led senior administrators in a two-day, one-night summit push, while 40 teachers and students attempted a one-day solo climb of Yushan Main Peak. Even during the final 0.5-kilometer section of gravel slope, which required vertical ascent, the group encouraged one another, using hands and feet and pulling on ropes to move forward, completing a mission of self-transcendence.

Chang Kuo-en said that the journey of National Taiwan Normal University is like climbing Yushan—step by step. Along the way, they have faced difficulties and setbacks, but thanks to the hard work of alumni and faculty over the years, support from all sectors, and the united efforts of everyone on campus, the university has reached its current scale and achievements. He expressed hope for a broader vision in the future—not only to align with international standards but also to create glorious new chapters. 1050518

(CNA)