The Dahan Institute of Technology, previously named “Dahan Junior College of Engineering and Business” was founded on June 1977. The first Board of Directors was formally set up the same year that Mr. Lin, Chao-Gan was named as the board chairman and Professor Bee, Lain-Chung was elected as the first president. The three Branches of Day Division- Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Mineral Engineering were established.
Originally, our undergraduate programs provided students rigorous theories with some empirical trainings and proficient management skills so as to enable them to possess professional specialties before graduation. The graduates were expected to take good advantage of their management skills to create innovative working environments and hence, to steer their own boats. The educational goals of our college were to educate students preparing for future competitive challenges in such complicated industrial environments as well as to give them an insight into the problems of world.
In the academic year of 1979, Professor Yang, So-Chun was invited to be the second president. The next year, the Branches for the five-year junior college, International Trade and Financial Taxation, were successively erected
In July 1982, the Evening Division was established, and enrollment was open to students in the Department of Civil Engineering for a two-year program.
In the year of 1983, the structure of Board of Directors was broadened, and Mr. Lin, Kun-Chung was assigned as the Chairman, Mr. Chen-Gin as the acting president. The same year, the Department of Accounting and Statistics was established, offering a five-year program and a two-year one for Finance and Taxation at Night School.
In the academic year of 1989, supported by the Ministry of Education, Professor Hung, Dan-Ming was named as the acting president, and the next year, Lin, Sun-Ping was formally assigned as the president.
In 1991, the school offered a two-year evening program in the Department of International Trade.
In 1992, the Department of Mineral Engineering changed its named to be that of Environmental Resources Management.
After receiving recognition by the Ministry of Education, on 3 Oct., 1993, Mr. Liao, Ji-Cheng formally took over the Board Chairman, and Dr. Louis K. Chang was invited to be the president.
In the academic year of 1994, several new departments were set up-such as the Department of Logistics Management and that of Environmental Resources Management at Evening Division. The Business Building and the Engineering Buildingwere respectively built the same year, and the Dahan’s Main Gate was also rebuilt.
During the years of 1997-1998, two new Departments, “Computer Science & Information Engineering” and “Computer & Communication Engineering”, were set up.
On August 1 1999, agreed by the Ministry of Education, our school formally was reorganized into the “Dahan Institute of Technology”.
In 2003, the Department of Accounting Information transformed its name into the Department of Finance and Banking, and the Department of Recreational Sports Management was established as well.
Then next year, 2004, in order to meet the requirements of our students and society, the president Kang, Tze-Li put more emphasis upon promotion of Hualien’s leisure businesses and tourism so that the related Departments were then set up.
At the end of July, 2008, Professor Kang retired, and Professor Song, Pey-Shiuan served as the president.
Until Feb. 1, 2021, Dr. Yao was selected as president by Dahan directorate.
Now he is much more enhancing the promotion of local Industry-Academy as well as agricultural and environmental education.
In academic year 2010, fourteen departments were integrated into nine departments. Due to the tendency of low birth rate in recent years, the strategy of further reformation of departments results in six departments and two master degree programs in 2018, which were Civil Engineering & Environmental Resources Management with master degree programs, Mechanical Engineering, Business Administration, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Leisure and Recreational Sports Management, Jewelry Technology, and also Master Degree Programs in Logistics Management. It was well organized that a further rearrangement of both Tourism and Leisure departments into one as the Department of Recreation and Hospitality Management in the academic year 2019.
The competence-based education, zealously promoted by our school through some scrutinized and scientific processes of analyses established course standards, enabled our students to obtain their specialties. In the meanwhile, the students’ learning experiences and individual differences, acquired in such an educational process, would be optimized so that they could learn happily and obtain the licenses for the future competitions.