[Thoughts] 2024 Joint Conference of University Administrators for Teacher Education

The cover photo was taken at the 2024 Joint Conference of University Administrators for Teacher Education, held on November 1, 2024.

The Joint Conference of University Administrators for Teacher Education is an important annual event for Taiwan’s teacher education system, where administrators from teacher-training universities across the country come together to discuss education policies, share experiences, exchange insights on policy implementation, and engage in face-to-face dialogue with officials from the Ministry of Education. The conference functions as a convergence point, gathering perspectives, expectations, and questions from all sides, gradually shaping the future direction of education. For me, it represents one of the most essential spaces for dialogue in the education sector, not only to review the current situation, but also to explore future strategies and confirm policy directions.

The 2024 conference was hosted by National Dong Hwa University, and I unexpectedly became part of the supporting team. When I first received the assignment, it was simply to help build the official website and registration form, so I began constructing the overall framework. For the website, I chose WordPress as the platform, and every aspect, from layout and wording to the organization of information, required careful thought and design. It felt like assembling a stage from scratch, gradually piecing together the outline of the annual conference, and ultimately creating this website, which became the first major deliverable of my involvement and perhaps the most representative achievement.

In addition to the website, I was also responsible for designing the online registration form. This part used Google Forms as a tool, but the real challenge was not technical, it was the diversity of users. Some participants were unfamiliar with Google’s ecosystem, and some did not even have Gmail accounts. Designing a form that could reliably collect all necessary information while remaining easy for everyone to complete became my primary consideration. This not only affected the smoothness of the registration process, but also directly influenced the organizers’ ability to manage and verify information before the event. Every detail I designed involved thinking not just about “how to collect data”, but how to balance the process between technology and user experience, making it truly accessible and aligned with participants’ needs.

Although the conference had been assigned to Dong Hwa University long before, the same year the April 3 Hualien Earthquake disrupted several transportation routes in Hualien, some of which required repair. The original plan of hosting an in-person gathering for administrators had to be changed to a fully online format. This shift not only affected the form of the conference, but also added more uncertainty to the preparation process, and I stepped into this environment as a flexible on-call support staff.

On the day of the event, I worked behind the scenes to handle various unexpected needs. Although it appeared to be just an online conference, the operations behind it were never easier than an in-person meeting. The stability of the video platform, the timing and coordination between speakers, participants’ potential technical issues, and last-minute procedural checks could arise at any moment. From an unseen position, I continuously monitored the overall operation and intervened immediately when issues occurred. These fleeting moments of tension, often happening off-screen, became the key threads supporting the smooth progress of the entire event.

Looking back after the event, I realized that the insights I gained were far richer than expected. Through building the website and form, I saw how the clarity of information affects the start of a conference, through participating in online logistics I witnessed the commitment and expectations of every role in the education community, and through the core topics of the conference, whether the future teachers’ core competencies, the role of AI in teacher education, sustainability, challenges in bilingual education, inclusion, or public-funded student programs, I saw how the education sector is striving to find a new positioning in a rapidly changing world.

If this conference was a deep national dialogue on education, then my role was like someone quietly keeping the stage balanced. I was not in the spotlight, yet I felt a real connection to the education scene. This experience was not only a form of assistance, but also a lesson in responsibility, professionalism, and educational values. It taught me that a complete educational vision is never built solely by those speaking at the front, but also by everyone willing to support, assist, and ensure the smooth operation of the entire event.

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