NPUST’s president, Chin-Lung Chang, said: “I am very pleased to welcome all the officials, experts and partnering farmers to this social gathering at our newly built Center for Technological Agriculture. This is an opportunity for everyone to exchange ideas from different fields and promote the upgrading and transformation of Taiwan’s agriculture industries. Each person here is a key force in the promotion of agricultural progress! National Pingtung University of Science and Technology is an agricultural school and is the only comprehensive science and technology university in Taiwan that focuses on tropical agriculture. In recent years, along with the proliferation of AI technology, our school has been actively developing “smart agriculture” technologies, such as agricultural drones, agricultural Internet of Things, cloud computing and big data decision support systems. These have been applied to different crop management scenarios, including cultivation management, pest and disease control, crop yield predictions, and marketing—while giving consideration to climate change, farmer incomes, and added value for agricultural products. The Farmers’ Association is an important link connecting farmers with future agricultural trends. It is also responsible for the transmission of knowledge and technology and has made great contributions to agricultural technology improvement, rural development, farmers’ welfare and regional economic growth.”

National Pingtung University of Science and Technology works with agricultural administration agencies such as the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute to help promote the policies of the Ministry of Agriculture. It also works to connect farmers and agricultural organizations while encouraging cross-domain cooperation between groups involved in agricultural education, economics, finance, and social development with the aim of establishing good social relationship networks. Through these networks, hopes are to enhance the development of circular economies and promote Taiwan’s agriculture sector through the application of new technology.

The Center for Technological Agriculture is composed of three major units: Office of Continuing and Extension Education, the Smart Agriculture Center, and the Bachelor Program of Agricultural Technology. The Bachelor Program is a publicly funded program in agriculture that trains agricultural management talent. It covers farming, aquaculture, animal husbandry, food science and management, combining academic and practical coursework so that students can immediately apply what they learn. The Office of Continuing and Extension Education provides professional technical training courses for the agriculture, engineering and business. It is combined with community services to enhance competitive advantages and promote industrial upgrading. The Smart Agriculture Center uses forward-looking technology to promote “smart” production and market integration, and enhance added-value techniques. The Center for Technological Agriculture will play a supportive role by working to integrate the experimental research, extension services and educational activities of the three bodies with hopes of cultivating cross-domain talent and enabling Taiwan’s agriculture industry to stride into the “Smart era”.

Serving as both a window for external promotion and a facility for professional training, the spatial design of the center takes both of these needs into consideration. The goal was to establish an incubation base and creative space which will encourage student innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. This incubation base brings together on-campus resources to provide a space where students can receive technical assistance as they work to develop their business plans and turn their ideas into products. A team of professional consultants at the center will provide students with advice on finances, management, intellectual property and business related issues.

On top of this, in order to promote “life-long learning” and provide a healthy, happy, independent and dignified learning environment for senior-citizen students enrolled in the University for Seniors, special training classrooms have also been designed for the center. In this way the center will be able to further serve as an interactive platform that allows different generations to share knowledge and learn together.

NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang said that “Taiwan’s farmers’ associations have been heavily involved in local agriculture for a long time. They act both as professional cooperative business operators and rural cooperatives. At a time when Taiwan’s agricultural population is aging and the number of professional farmers is in decline, NPUST is working through its teachers and resource investments to strengthen connections and cooperation between industry, government and academia. With mutual assistance and mutual benefit, we are moving towards the goal of regional and industrial resource integration. Not only are we connecting farmers, training farmers, and providing services to them, we are also enhancing the role that farmers’ associations play in communications, farmer’s welfare, and rural development—and we are working to return young farmers to their hometowns, revitalize the agricultural economy and promote sustainable development”.

With more in-depth cooperation taking place between NPUST and the local farmers’ associations, Taiwan’s sustainable practices and global competitiveness in agricultural will be strengthened as work is done to increase output value and more effectively keep food-safety in check for consumers.

President Chang Chin-Long welcomed the new students, saying, “Welcome, freshmen, to NPUST. The university has arranged diverse and innovative courses to lead all students in joyful and mutual learning. ‘Elderly’ is synonymous with ‘Learning,’ signifying that there is no endpoint in the journey of learning. I wish all students a smooth and happy experience in the process of active and lifelong learning.” Director Peng Ke-Zhong of the Continuing Education Division stated, “This academic year, Elderly University is again enrolling many familiar faces, reflecting our staff’s dedicated planning of unique and diverse courses for multidimensional teaching. We hope all students can enhance their comprehensive learning abilities through the university’s abundant resources and course arrangements, seizing the opportunity for lifelong learning through various channels.”

Since the implementation of the “Elderly University” program by the Ministry of Education, the initiative has grown from 56 universities in the 99th academic year to 88 universities in the 111th academic year. This program provides an opportunity for the elderly to enter university campuses, fulfilling the dreams of seniors to attend university. The Elderly University has steadily grown each year, offering individuals aged 55 and above a chance to fulfill their university dreams. As people enter retirement, the question of how to find a second life becomes crucial. Drawing on accumulated experiences, individuals can create a vibrant and diverse second life without losing their identity in the flow of time. Learning without pressure, they can enhance knowledge and wisdom, achieving “happy learning” and forgetting about age.

In the current academic year, 82 students were enrolled, with an average age of approximately 65 years. The oldest student is from the 29th cohort (82 years old). Three students traveled from Kaohsiung, and seven couples are learning together. NPUST’s approach to organizing Elderly University is characterized by dedication, sincerity, and a service-oriented philosophy, earning positive reviews from students and attracting participants from various backgrounds.

The course content is rich and innovative, covering four major categories mandated by the Ministry of Education: “School Features,” “Age-Related,” “Health and Leisure,” and “New Life Knowledge.” “School Features” courses integrate professional courses from the College of Agriculture, College of Management, and College of Veterinary Medicine. Examples include courses on smart agriculture, home gardening pest control, the trilogy of saving Formosan rock macaques, Chinese and Western cooking, baking, poultry meat, egg products, dairy products, and nutritional applications. “Age-Related” courses combine lectures on health-related topics with the expertise of the Health Center and local medical systems. Topics include prevention strategies for sarcopenia, home safety, first aid, and crisis management for the elderly. “Health and Leisure” courses are designed by the faculty of the Department of Recreation and Sports Management, offering courses such as active aging through outdoor adventure, TRX training for peripheral muscles and ligament strengthening, and elderly boxing. “New Life Knowledge” courses combine expertise from the College of Humanities, Continuing Education Division, and the Library and Exhibition Hall, providing courses on legal aspects of life, mobile photography, ceramics, and integrating gender consciousness into elderly life.

NPUST’s Elderly University courses leverage the university’s distinctive teaching resources, designing practical courses suitable for seniors. In the lively and diverse course planning, the aim is to enable seniors to achieve results consistent with lifelong learning and to experience joyful learning while maintaining health and freedom. Never giving up, the goal is to continue learning throughout life.

In the academic year 2019, the Office of Continuing Education collaborated with Lingyun Elementary School in Pingtung County for activities such as the “Little Farmer Rice Planting Experience Camp,” “Rice Harvesting Experience Camp,” “Agricultural Education Courses on Rice,” and events involving tasting “Harvested Rice Meals” and making “Rice Cakes.” These activities aimed to bring the agricultural experience from the field to the table, allowing students to understand the challenging process of being a farmer for a day.

Principal Hsu Yucheng of Lingyun Elementary School expressed, “It is truly rare for students to participate in the entire process, from planting the rice they transplanted to bringing the actual rice back home for cooking. Students can learn the essence of agricultural education together with their families. We are very grateful for the donation from NPUST and for instilling correct agricultural education knowledge in the students.”

The execution of “University Social Responsibility Practices” in the field of agriculture has always been a strength of NPUST. Throughout the over four-month implementation process, faculty and students from the university’s Department of Crop Production, Department of Plant Medicine, and Bachelor’s Program in Agricultural Management and Technology, along with local farmers, have actively participated. In addition to overseeing the technical aspects for local farmers, the university has focused its educational resources on local youth and children, cultivating correct knowledge about agriculture, food production, and safety issues. With a diverse approach, the university looks forward to continuing to support young farmers and local children in the development of agricultural issues and agricultural communities in the future.