Aletheia University  |  Fall Semester 2026

Freshman Seminar Learning Reflection Competition Guidelines

“My New Chapter at University: Exploration, Growth, and the Future”

I. Purpose

The competition encourages students to engage actively in the Freshman Seminar, reflect on their learning, and explore their interests and future goals as they adjust to university life and get to know campus culture.

Through writing or images, students document their learning and growth since entering university. They connect classroom learning with everyday life, develop skills in independent learning, reflective expression, and career planning, and build a sense of belonging to the university and their departments.

II. Organizers

Organizer — Project Management Office, Office of Research and Development, Aletheia University

Co-organizer — Center for General Education

III. Eligibility

Students enrolled in Freshman Seminar in Fall Semester 2026 are eligible to enter.

IV. Competition Theme

Under the theme “My New Chapter at University: Exploration, Growth, and the Future,” participants may choose one or combine several of the following topics.

Theme	Suggested Focus
Discovering Myself and My Strengths	Explore your interests, personal qualities, and potential through activities that help you understand yourself and your abilities.
My First Life Lesson at University	Share a memorable class, lecture, or activity and explain how it inspired you.
Finding My Place at Aletheia	Reflect on adjusting to university life, using campus resources, and developing a sense of belonging.
Discovering Aletheia and Exploring Tamsui	Reflect on campus heritage sites, arts and culture, or your exploration of the Tamsui community.
Where I Want to Be in Four Years	Connect your strengths with what your department offers and plan your learning and career goals.
Respecting Differences and Discovering Possibilities	Reflect on cultural diversity, gender equality, interpersonal relationships, or concern for others.

V. Submission Requirements

1. This is an individual competition. Each participant may submit one entry.

2. Entries must be submitted in Chinese. International students may write their original reflections in their first language or in English and use AI to translate them into Chinese for submission. Participants may choose their own titles and use any creative form, including essays, poems, stories, song lyrics, or comics, subject to the file requirements in Section VII.

Written entries may contain up to 500 Chinese characters, including punctuation and excluding spaces. Comics and illustrated entries may be up to four pages. Text within illustrations is exempt from the 500-character limit.

3. Entries must draw on the Freshman Seminar, related lectures, or relevant university experiences and convey the participant’s own feelings, learning, and reflections.

4. Participants are encouraged to explore different creative forms to show what inspired them, how they have grown, and how they envision their future.

5. Entries must be the participant’s original work. Plagiarism and the use of generative AI to produce an entire entry are prohibited. Participants may use AI to assist with brainstorming, language editing, translation, or image creation. The entry must primarily reflect the participant’s own creative work and actual learning experiences. Participants must declare on the registration form whether they used AI and briefly describe any use, including translation.

VI. Important Dates

1. Submissions open on the announcement date and close at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25, 2026. Late submissions will not be accepted.

2. Entries will be evaluated in late November 2026.

3. Winners are expected to be announced on the university website in early December 2026.

VII. Submission Procedures

1. Complete the organizer’s online registration form and upload the entry before the deadline.

2. The form requires the participant’s name, student ID number, department, class, course instructor, entry title, declaration of generative AI use with a brief explanation if applicable, and consent to the authorization terms and personal data collection notice.

3. Submit written entries as Word or PDF files. Submit comics and illustrated entries as PDF, JPG, or PNG files. Combine any multipage entry into one PDF.

4. Participants may resubmit before the deadline. Only the last version successfully submitted before the deadline will be evaluated.

5. To allow anonymous judging, omit identifying information from the file name and entry, including the participant’s name, student ID number, department, and course instructor.

VIII. Evaluation Criteria

The organizer will invite university faculty members to serve on the judging panel. The panel will use the following criteria.

Criterion	Weight	What the Panel Looks For
Depth of Learning Reflection	25%	Thoughtful reflection on learning experiences and personal growth.
Personal Experience and Authenticity	25%	Specific and genuine accounts of personal learning experiences.
Course Connections and Future Action	25%	Clear links to the Freshman Seminar, lectures, or university life, with specific plans for future action.
Expression and Creativity	25%	Effective use of writing, images, or other creative forms to convey what the participant learned and express their individuality.
Total	100%

The panel considers each entry as a whole, taking its form and style into account. Judges emphasize reflection, authentic experiences, connections to the course, and creative expression. Genre, length, and drawing skills are considered alongside these criteria.

Entries are ranked by their average scores across all judges. The panel resolves ties through discussion. Its decisions are final.

IX. Awards and Prizes

Awards are based on the judging results.

Award	Maximum Recipients	Prize per Recipient	Subtotal
First Prize	1	NT$4,000	NT$4,000
Second Prize	2	NT$2,000	NT$4,000
Third Prize	3	NT$1,000	NT$3,000
Honorable Mention	25	NT$500	NT$12,500
Total	31	—	NT$23,500

The organizer may award fewer prizes or leave an award category vacant based on the number of entries and the judging results. The panel may set a minimum qualifying score. The number of recipients and the total prize amount are capped at the figures shown above.

Each participant may receive one award. Winners receive a cash prize and a certificate. The university disburses prizes under its applicable regulations. Winners within the same award category share the same rank.

X. Additional Regulations

1. Entries must be original and must never have received an award in another competition.

2. The organizer may disqualify an entry, revoke an award, or recover prizes already distributed if a participant fails to meet eligibility requirements, plagiarizes, fails to accurately disclose generative AI use including AI-assisted translation, infringes copyright, or otherwise violates the competition rules.

3. Participants whose entries include another person’s likeness, personal data, or copyrighted material must obtain any required consent or permission in advance and respect the rights of others.

4. By registering, participants must grant the organizer permission to use their entries for non-commercial purposes, including reproduction and public display with attribution. The organizer may feature winning entries in exhibitions, university publications, and educational outreach activities.

5. The organizer will use collected personal data solely for registration, judging, communication, and prize distribution. The organizer will handle the data in accordance with Taiwan’s Personal Data Protection Act and applicable university regulations.

6. The organizer will announce separately any matters these guidelines do not cover.

7. These guidelines take effect upon approval and official announcement. Amendments follow the same procedure.

 

 

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