STUST's “Youth and Elderly Co-creation” USR project team held a course achievement presentation for the 111th academic year—"Design and Application of Life Care Assistive Devices" on campus. 6 groups of interdisciplinary students used their own designed assistive devices as the theme to showcase the development process and design results of course aids. The design proposals were ingenious and close to the real life needs of the elderly, showing great diversity, innovation, and impression.

【A group photo of STUST's achievement exhibition of “Youth and Elderly Co-creation” USR project life assistive device design course】

This semester, the course was guided by Prof. Mei-zhu Chen, Chair of the Department of Senior Welfare Service, together with Prof. Kun Ouyang, Prof. Ya-lin Chen, and Jian-min Fang from the Department of Creative Product Design. Since October, the students have been led into the Kunsha Community of Tainan City, where 8 local elders averaged 70 were Interviewed by students in October to learn about the real life of senior elders through casual conversations. Some elders reported that they often got hurt when they cut their nails; others talked about the difficulties they encountered when they washed clothes by hand or went up and down the stairs. Through the course design, teachers led their students to focusing on the root of the problem, compared existing products on the market to come up with design concepts, and then used CAD drawing and 3D printing technology to materialize the ideas. In the 18-week course, students went through four stages—interview, focus, conception and implementation, starting from the mastery of the problem, the design concept produced from scratch, the lean design force as the focus, and the pursuit of solutions to the life problems raised by the elderly.

【Students of STUST were talking about life experiences with local elders.】

This practical experience was the first attempt of the third-year students of STUST. The teachers encouraged the students to demonstrate the operation in person before they could provide many suggestions for further optimization. Among the works designed by the students, three groups of students' proposals showed excellent performance in the presentation of explanation boards, model making, and program explanations. They won the preference award of the course, among which the "Movement and Standing Aids" won the first place with its design of a telescopic crutch that supports the body while freeing up both hands. "RelyArmrest" proposes a way for the elders of the household to take the stairs to carry and wash clothes in a less labor-intensive way. The "Nail Scissors Set," which considers the inconvenience of the elderly bending over to cut their toenails, proposes a plan for comfortable and safe nail cutting.

【Students from STUST were discussing about subsequent courses.】

President Deng-maw Lu of STUST said that teachers and students of STUST not only combine practical skills to learn by doing through course design, but also go into the community to get connected with local issues, personally experiencing the living needs of the local elderly and propose solutions. This was really a rare blessing experience for their learning, and President Lu hopes that every STUST student should remember the learning and practical memory at this moment and should be brave enough to take the responsibility for the well-being of the elderly, so they can shine in various fields of the future society with their own professionalism and play a greater role in society.

【Students of STUST were explaining the situation of "Moving and Standing Aids" in the presentation of the achievement of the life assistive design course in the USR program.】

【Students of STUST were explaining the situation of "RelyArmrest Laundry Basket" in the presentation of the achievement of the life assistive design course in the USR program.】

【Students of STUST were explaining the situation of "Nail Scissors Set" in the presentation of the achievement of the life assistive design course in the USR program.】

【A group photo of STUST achievement exhibition for “Youth and Elderly Co-creation” USR program life assistive device design course】