The Research Experience In NCU Taiwan
By Miguel Conrado Valdez Vasquez
As it is well known, a Master degree is the initiation of researchers in any University in the world, and this NCU Taiwan experience is not an exception. My research topic I would consider it quite challenging considering my experience in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) which before I came to Taiwan I had the idea that is was quite good, but experiencing the tasks developed here in this Lab, I figure out that the GIS is a giant undiscovered world, with so many applications that we can only imagine and think before, but are not yet developed in the way it has been developed in Taiwan, making me realize that there is so many to learn here that unfortunately the time becomes limited for everything. Our Master Program is Environmental Development, but as it is known, GIS and Remot sensing are tools and instruments that make life much easier for researchers, and Environmental development is after the Military purposes the Field in which GIS and remote sensing instruments are mostly applied. The process developed here is quite an experience, with of course some difficulties that we have to face and try to solve as soon as possible. It all started with the presentation of a Thesis proposal to your potential advisor and Program Managers in which you expose your ideas, and receive feedback from them. The task is grabbing the attention from the advisor, and receive feedback from the Program Manager. After this challenge, everything becomes more and more difficult. Affine your proposal, to make an interesting project answering to some of the needs of our home country. In this process, other lab students become a part of it, giving interesting suggestions, making your idea stronger. My initial topic discussed was a Multitemporary Analysis of Land Use change and natural disaster recovery in a major Watershed in Honduras. After many discussions, literature review we concentrated the topic in: Post Hurricane Mitch Landslide vegetation recovery analysis in 3 different periods in El Cajon and Choluteca River Watersheds. Now the tasks become even more challenging. Trying to obtain information as base for the analysis became a difficult task since in my country, there is not so many Geodata, there is a lot of information written in reports, documents, statistics, etc. But there is no GIS data. We knocked many doors to get information, and at the end, the providers of information are foreign organizations that had developed several projects in Honduras. I would say that this had been the most difficult moment until now for my thesis. The good thing about GIS is that if there is no Data, we can generate it, although takes out some of our valuable time, and carries on with more expenses, at the end is all good experience. Now comes developing the methodology established, there are many tasks that you don’t have the experience, but you have to develop, otherwise you cannot complete the task. The task is identify the topics with more weakness and try to study or take some courses to Learn issues that before coming to Taiwan, you considered as high degree of difficulty. This is all a learning process, and at the end it has to be done. My thesis is in developing process at the moment, I am in the mid stage if it and the Advise from my Professor which is a really busy person become basic. His support towards me has always been there, not only as advisory, but materials, trying to hook me in some classes which I have taken extra and several Workshops as he identifies your weakness and helps you come over them. At the same time he compromises you to dedicate your time to the work. The same level of support from ICDF with books required and other materials. There are many actors you need to involve in developing a research, many that in some way become part of this project, so at the end is not only learning technical details but administration, communication ad building a friendship with other students, foreign or Taiwanese. Some of which support you with ideas and their knowledge.