“Reborn, More Than Just a Computer” Won Honorable Mention YZU Volunteers Took Action to Bridge the Digital Divide

Yuan Ze University has worked closely with the Asus Foundation for many years to promote educational sustainability and international service. In addition to financial support, the foundation also provided “refurbished laptops” to assist the volunteer teams in promoting information education, contributing to narrowing the digital divide.

Over the past three years, YZU’s Northern Thailand International Service Team has brought 30 refurbished laptops to Munsin Deh Datong School in Chiang Rai, Thailand, helping improve local teaching quality and administrative efficiency, and enabling technology to become a bridge for educational access.

This year, the volunteer team participated in the Asus Foundation’s “2025 Refurbished Computer Digital Empowerment Program” with their documentary Reborn: Not Just a Computer, but the Continuation of Education, and won an Honorable Mention. The film documented three years of service experiences and presented, through interviews with local teachers, how the refurbished laptops had improved classroom teaching and administrative processes. It showcased how technology extended and transformed education—not merely as computers, but as sparks of hope.

In addition, both YZU’s Northern Thailand International Service Team and the Malaysia Service Team joined the International Volunteer Achievement Presentation organized by the Asus Foundation. Their volunteer actions, grounded in long-term local engagement and innovative practices, both received Merit Awards, demonstrating how YZU youth embodied social responsibility and connected with the world through service.

Since the team first visited Munsin Deh Datong School in Chiang Rai sixteen years ago, the YZU International Service Program has cultivated more than one hundred students to engage in volunteer service learning. With the core spirit of “short-term participation, long-term relay,” the team continued to promote cross-border educational exchange through service. Years of service not only contributed to local educational development but also encouraged students to step out of their comfort zones, experience diverse cultures, and learn understanding, empathy, and growth through service—truly realizing the meaning of social responsibility and service learning.

Instructor Hsiu-Chu Lin noted that YZU’s International Volunteer Team upheld the philosophy of “love as a bridge and service as the foundation,” integrating information technology, creative English learning, cultural aesthetics, and environmental education into its curriculum. The team worked to bring educational resources and heartfelt care to underserved communities. She emphasized that this cross-border educational initiative not only provided knowledge and hope to students in Northern Thailand, but also enabled young volunteers to discover the power of education and the meaning of life through giving.

Liu Yi-Chun, Dean of the Office of Student Affairs, stated that international volunteer service was not only an educational practice but also a shared journey of growth. Moving forward, Yuan Ze University would continue to write warm chapters through action, allowing education and care to shine across the world and fulfilling the belief of “influencing lives through life.”

Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Liu Yi-Chun, added that international volunteer service is not only an educational practice but also a journey of mutual growth. Moving forward, Yuan Ze University will continue to write new chapters of warmth through action — allowing education and compassion to shine across the world, and realizing the belief that “life can inspire life.”