The University’s USR project, “Northern Taiwan’s First Learning Hub: Between Mountains and Water,” held a USR Expert Lecture Series on December 18, Year 114, at 3:00 p.m. on the second floor of the Teaching Building. The lecture invited Ms. Jiang Ziyin, Secretary-General of Xindian Chongguang Community College, as the keynote speaker. The session opened with an introduction by Professor Chen Chih-Lin, Project Director of “Between Mountains and Water,” who introduced Ms. Jiang and guided faculty and students through the project themes and site-based actions.

　　Speaking on the theme “From Community to Place-Based Revitalization, From Ecology to Cultural Innovation,” Ms. Jiang began with real issues from the front lines of community practice, emphasizing that culture is not an abstract slogan but is deeply rooted in residents’ everyday lives, memories, and actions. She highlighted community colleges as a crucial starting point for connecting local knowledge with public action, using learning mechanisms to transform seemingly fragmented life experiences into cultural forces that can be understood and put into practice.

　　Using the Xindian River basin as a case study, the lecture illustrated how publicness can emerge from a single river. Through water environment patrols, watershed-based learning, and civic action, residents gradually build a sense of responsibility toward their place and develop the capacity to act—allowing learning to move beyond the classroom and return to public space. At the methodological level, Ms. Jiang proposed a place-based revitalization model of “Memory–Learning–Action–Redesign,” underscoring the community college’s key role as an intermediary and incubator. She concluded by sharing Chongguang Community College’s practical experiences, demonstrating how culture can be translated into action and how post-disaster experiences can empower communities to move toward more mature forms of local governance. The lecture offered insights that combine depth with practical applicability and once again highlighted the pivotal role of community colleges in future local development.

　　The session concluded with an open discussion. Faculty participants noted that the place-based revitalization perspective was highly inspiring for strengthening the integration of teaching, research, and site-based practice within USR projects—particularly in positioning culture as the foundation for action and community colleges as intermediary platforms, providing concrete and actionable frameworks. Students focused on how cultural action accumulates across generations, how newcomers can integrate into local cultural practices, and how young people can find pathways for long-term engagement in their communities. Ms. Jiang responded to each point and encouraged students to begin with an understanding of local issues, gradually accumulate practical experience, and translate professional learning into concrete actions that respond to local needs—bringing the lecture to a meaningful close.

　　Image (No. 1) Description: Ms. Jiang Ziyin, Secretary-General, shared Chongguang Community College’s place-based revitalization initiatives and environmental stewardship actions launched within local communities.

中文：USR專家講座「從社區到地方創生・從生態到文化創新」　新店崇光社大發享地方創生實績
This article will be simultaneously published in the SDGs E-paper.