First of all, being the Chairman of the Department and also an alumnus of the Department’s Ph.D. program, I would like to congratulate to you all for being part of the Department of Optics and Photonics. The Department you are admitted to is a department with history, reputation, love, and rigor. I am very pleased to welcome you all to become part of us.

Formerly known as the Institute of Optical Sciences (IOS) at National Central University, it was established in 1982 and is the second oldest graduate institute of optics nationwide. IOS started recruiting undergraduate students in 2006 and became the Department of Optics and Photonics of today.

Developed for more than 30 years, the Department has grown into a prestigious teaching and research entity in almost every aspect. Over the years, more than a thousand students graduated from the Department and have been bringing positive energy across the industry, academia, government, and research institutions. For the past three years, each year more than a quarter of undergrad graduates who ranked top 50% choose to stay in our graduate program to pursue their M.S. or even Ph.D. degrees. Some of them earned a M.S. degree just one year after their graduations from our undergrad program, as a result of joining our five-year Joint B.S./M.S. degree program. This exciting result indicates we have a strong faculty-student relationship, excellent teaching quality, and great career planning we have done for the students.

Recently, some people advocate an idea that “choosing a university is more important than choosing a major”. This sounds like that no matter which major you are studying in, you will be getting high pay and having a promising future, guaranteed, once you graduate from a prestigious university. The point I’d like all of you to pay attention to is: when universities impose less serious and rigorous learning and training, what you will probability get is incomplete basic knowledge/ training; and unfortunately, this path will not lead you far.

A diploma from a noted university could only help you stand for two to three years. After that, what you can rely on along the way is your true capability, including the hard and soft skills, in which the hard skills refer to your professional skills while soft skills relates to a person’s EQ, personality traits, communication, language, and optimism. Therefore to build up yourself as a whole requires active learning and healthy interaction with teachers and classmates in the Department.

The faculty members at Department of Optics and Photonics are aged around 45 and are in their prime in terms of the academic maturity as a professor in their career path. They would spare no effort to teach you and guide you through the study of optics and photonics throughout your stay at DOP. All these will help you accomplish your work in the future at ease and always be on top of others in your future career path.

“Sincerity and Simplicity” is the school motto of National Central University (NCU). Students from NCU pursue no empty glory and supremacy of diploma itself but solid knowledge and rigorous basic training. This is also the belief we hold over the past 20 years and perhaps you have heard that the rigor and solidness of DOP’s curriculum and requirements. The Department of Optics and Photonics will certainly be the best learning palace for you if you are willing to take such strict training and pursing a long-term career development.

Finally, I wish you all good health, happiness, and success in your schoolwork.

Best wishes,
Yang, Tsung-Hsun

Chairman of Department of Optics and Photonics,
National Central University
August. 01, 2020