The “Protecting Every Owl” project was launched in 2021 by Professor Yuan-Shiuan Suen’s team at the NPUST Institute of Wildlife Conservation. The team has long been engaged in practical work, such as raptor monitoring, nest box installation, field inspections, and teaching material development. Over the last several years, more students have joined the team, helping to expand the work from the university campus to elementary schools and diverse rural settings, assisting with habitat restoration and cross-discipline communication. The team’s work has been an excellent example of the profound power of academic continuity and local practice. By the end of 2024, the project had installed over 100 owl nest boxes in farmlands in Gaoshu, Pingtung; Dongshan, Tainan; and Wufeng, Taichung. They also documented 53 successful breeding cases, with some locations having maintained stable breeding for four consecutive years. Over 100 Farglory Life corporate volunteers participated in nest box painting, farmland inspections, base visits, and the sourcing of non-toxic agricultural products, and together, they are gradually integrating ecological issues into corporate culture and life values.

In addition to carrying out on-site conservation work, the NPUST team has been holding lectures and experiential courses for farmers and young students. They also designed a series of picture books and teaching kits, including “When You Become an Owl” and “The Coexistence of Raptors and Agriculture”. By participating in the project, NPUST students have gained valuable experience collaborating with businesses, gained deeper understandings of ESG and sustainable governance, and honed practical cross-disciplinary skills.

In its fifth year this year, “Protecting Every Owl” project entered is now led by Assistant Professor Shiao-Yu Hong of the Institute of Wildlife Conservation and Hui-shan Lin, a doctoral student in the Biological Resources Program of the College of Agriculture. This year, the project team was also recognized at the sixth Global Views Magazine USR Awards, receiving the Model Award in the “Ecological Common Good” Category—a clear indication of the positive impact that their joint efforts are having on ecological conservation and social engagement.

At the awards, President Chin-Lung Chang said: “NPUST has never been absent from the USR competition since it began in 2020. This year, our school’s work stood out once again among many outstanding projects, winning three awards, including a First Prize Award, Model Award and Performance Award. These results testify to the fact that NPUST’s long term and deep engagement with educational research, industry-university cooperation, innovative development, and social responsibility practices are being recognized by the outside world. The awards also offer affirmation and encouragement to the teachers and students who are implementing USR projects at our school. It takes time to cultivate role models— and NPUST has been accumulating expertise and honing technology for a hundred years, working to create a “replicable learning model” and share its successful experiences with counties and cities across Taiwan, and even in the international community. We are very grateful for the affirmation of the committee members, and in the future, NPUST will continue to work hard at making contributions to social progress”.

Professor Mei-Hui Chen, who won first prize in the “Industry Co-Creation Group”, has spent many years working with remote tribes and mountain communities in Taiwan, devoting herself to research on community forestry and sustainable development. Her project, which focuses on “under forest economies, ecotourism alliance development, and agricultural & forestry carbon sequestration talent cultivation”, aims to develop economic models that allow for mountain residents to coexist with the forests. In her work, she is creating technology and developing systems for beekeeping and shiitake mushroom cultivation and is equipping young people with professional capabilities to measure carbon sinks in agricultural and forested lands. At the same time, Professor Chen has connected international and Taiwanese ecotourism resources to give birth to the “Taiwan Ecotourism and Local Revitalization Alliance”, linking 65 local community tribes, 44 ecotourism organizations, and 10 professional counseling teams. Together they are promoting the sustainable development of ecotourism DMOs (Destination Marketing Organizations) and building a bridge for the international community to gain access to the profound beauty of Taiwan’s natural mountain and coastal areas.

In the “Ecological Coexistence Group”, Assistant Professor Shiao-Yu Hong of the NPUST Institute of Wildlife Conservation won the Model Award with his endangered bird conservation project. His project, which builds on the work of Professor Yuan-Hsun Sun of the same institute, is focused on the conservation of endangered wild birds in Taiwan, such as the eastern grass owl. Perches are erected in farmlands to attract birds of prey to come hunt for mice in the fields. As an ecologically friendly alternative to poison, the method is enjoying support from community farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture, and various governments agencies. In recent years they have organized corporate ESG collaborations to promote raptor friendly agriculture products, including several with Farglory Life Insurance, PX Mart, and Taiwan Sugar Corporation.

In the “Sustainable Course Group”, which was a new addition this year, Assistant Professor Fangyi Liu of the Department of Agribusiness Management won the Performance Award for her “Net Zero Carbon Inventory Cross-Domain Micro-Learning Program”. Her course was designed to cultivate professional talent in carbon inventory and carbon management with attention given to academic and industrial needs. The theoretical and practical teaching approach used in the course has already helped students obtain a total of 259 professional carbon management and sustainability-related certificates. Professor Liu and her students also formed a carbon inventory seed team to offer guidance to students who were working on the 2023 greenhouse gas inventory report for the NPUST campus and Baoli and Daren Forest Farms. On top of this, they helped another 18 companies to complete carbon inventory projects and reports. Plans are to introduce Assistant Professor Fangyi Liu’s course to National Experimental High School at Pingtung Science Park so that the sustainable curriculum can take root earlier on. Hopes are that once the students have graduated, the will not only apply the knowledge they have learned to the industrial sector, but will also work to enhance the public’s awareness of climate action and social responsibility, and help achieve a state of coexistence between people and nature.

The five USR projects approved this time are continuations from the third phase of the program. Giving focus to local development gaps in Pingtung, the projects include the “Satoyama Deep Economy 2.0 project for under forest economies, ecotourism alliance development, and agricultural & forestry carbon sequestration talent cultivation” hosted by Professor Mei-Hui Chen; the project for “digital transformation of agriculture, construction of ecosystems, and promotion of organic tropical agriculture along Pingtung’s 185 Highway”, promoted by Professor Hsu-Yang Kung and NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang; the project to “revitalize and optimization healthy agricultural with focus given to the Makatao tribe”, hosted by Vice-President Wen-Ling Shi; the project “promote science education for students from disadvantaged rural communities”, hosted by Professor Hudson Hsu; and the project promote “co-prosperity and happy companionship between young and old”, hosted by Professor Hui-Fen Su. NPUST promotes the practice of USR with the long-term goals of “facilitating local growth”, “cultivating independent talent” and “creating a sustainable environment”. As it continues to deepen its connections with the local community and promote a green campus, in 2025, it will also place added emphasis on “cultivating actionable talents” and “creating replicable exemplary learning”. In terms of talent development, in addition to focusing on the professional competence of its students, NPUST will work to strengthen cross-domain integration and problem-solving capabilities, while fostering greater concern for the local environment and increased motivation to participate in social practices among students. NPUST will also invest in the empowerment of community partners to promote the community’s ability to operate independently and sustainably, and it will work to establish replicable models which can be adopted by other regions, thereby driving the overall sustainable development of Pingtung County and creating a ripple effect throughout Taiwan and even beyond its borders.

Since its founding one hundred years ago, NPUST has earned itself a name as a “green university”—and for many years running, it has been achieving excellent results on the GreenMetric World University Rankings. Last year, for instance, it ranked 28^th among more than 700 universities, globally, while ranking 4^th in Asia and 1^st in Taiwan. The university’s broader efforts when it comes to practicing university social responsibility (USR) are also having an impact. This impact is reflected by the results of the 2024 USR University Citizen survey, in which NPUST ranked first among all public technical and vocational universities for the first time. With across-the-board policies and measures aimed at complying with the ESGs, the school currently offers nearly 3,000 courses which correspond to sustainable development. Clear about its mission and focused on results, as early as 2019 NPUST already announced that it was setting 2049 as the target year for it to become the first school in its category to achieve a net zero status.

Over the years, NPUST’s accumulated achievements have pushed it to the top ranking among public technical and vocational universities when it comes to social participation and inter-university evaluated sustainable performances. Well before “sustainability” became the prominent topic it is today, NPUST’s agricultural talent was already travelling around the country and around the world to research, educate, and engage in agricultural activities. Teachers and students accompanied farming teams to African countries to help develop agricultural technology, and the Institute of Tropical Agriculture was established to recruit international students, cultivate international agricultural professionals, and improve the livelihoods of people living in allied countries. NPUST’s advancements in the area of tropical agriculture have been catching attention around the world, and attracting dignitaries from many countries looking to cooperate with the school.

As it continually expands its international influence, NPUST is cooperating with Indonesian universities to develop biomass energy, and working with Thailand, Vietnam and other countries to promote academic exchange and develop animal vaccine technology. Domestically, NPUST is giving focus to gaps in Pingtung County’s local development and responding to super-aged society trends by creating projects to meet related needs. When it comes to the environment, there are many cases to site. From Professor Yuan-Shiuan Suen who is helping farmers protect their crops from pests by installing raptor perches rather than resorting of poisons, to Professor Mei-Hsiu Hwang whose long term and careful conservation work with the Taiwanese black bears has had a national impact. Meanwhile, the work of Professor Emeritus Yu-Min Wang and his team has resulted in a low-carbon rice planting techniques which drastically reduce the amount of water required for rice cultivation. Adding a social element to the mix, Professor Meihui Chen has been helping mountainous tribes with the development of sustainable economic practices, and Professor Kui Kasirisir has been cooperating with the Pingtung County Government to improve residents’ lives through age-friendly services, counseling, and community training. With these ongoing practices in place and many clear goals set for the future, NPUST will continue to exert its influence and help bring about more positive changes to society.

The team was brought together as part of the university social responsibility (USR) practice plan entitled “Revitalizing and Optimizing the Makatao Healthy Agricultural Industry”, which is headed up by NPUST’s Vice President for Administration, Wen-Ling Shih. Shih ran the first leg of the series, kicking things off on July 1^st at 8:00 am with an activity that taught students to use essential oils to make handmade soaps. Through the experience, the children learned about agricultural science and technology while also integrating and accentuating various aspects of Makatao tribal culture. Through team work, the children cultivated problem solving skills and developed a healthy spirit of competitiveness to help them advance in the future.

Shih said that her cross-disciplinary team of teachers and students from NPUST include members of the Department of Biotechnology, the Bachelor Program in Scientific Agriculture, the Department of Tropical Agriculture and International Cooperation, the Department of Animal Science, the Department of Plant Industry, the Department of Hotel and Restaurant Management, the Department of Fashion Design and Management, and the General Research Service Center.

The team put together a rich set of courses for the students, covering drone design, Makatao culture, Hakka history, paper art, laying hen management, container gardening, snake specimen preparation and more! Through the teachers’ explanations and the hands-on learning, students got a feeling for how to apply science and technology to life.

NPUST’s dedication to the promotion of a low-carbon and sustainable campus environment has won it the title of “green university” for ten consecutive years. Adding to this, the university attaches great importance to university social responsibility (USR), and actively encourages its teachers and students to cooperate with local communities, government organizations, schools, NGOs, associations and other groups to take their knowledge out of the campus and use it to bring attention to public affairs and become a partner to the local community.

Since the Ministry of Education implemented its University Social Responsibility (USR) Project in 2018, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) has been encouraging teachers and students on campus to get engaged. In order to share some of the results from the initiative, on May 31^st (2024), the “Third Phase University Social Responsibility (USR) Practice Projects Results Presentation” was held on the first floor of the Library and Exhibition Hall.

NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang said in his speech: “NPUST has reached its 100-year milestone this year, and it has always been committed to cultivating talent and promoting technological development. It cares about local culture and the natural environment and it places the practice of the university social responsibilities and environmental sustainability as its top priority.”

A number of speakers were invited to share on USR course design, including Professor Jui-mao Huang of Tamkang University and Professor Ying-Mei Liou of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (attending online), Chairwoman Wei Ying Lan of the Education Support for Taiwan Foundation, and Assistant Professor Li-Ya Chang of National Chi Nan University. The presentations were followed by a comprehensive discussion hosted by Chairwoman Wei Ying Lan, and co-moderated by the above-mentioned speakers. Jwu-Ting Chen of the Center for University Social Responsibility and Professor Hsu-Yang Kung of NPUST also added to the discussion on USR curriculum design and implementation. In addition to PAR/PBL model USR classes, time was spent exploring looked at other potential approaches.

NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang said: “National Pingtung University of Science and Technology will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year. We are encouraging the school to move towards sustainability, and are also working with local actors in the Pingtung area, and helping teachers, students and local partners to take action together. We hope that in this ever-changing environment, we have the resilience to quickly adjust and the ability to adapt to new trends so that we can educate talent that is aligned with the needs of the times. Therefore, in its approach towards education, NPUST is promoting cross-domain learning and practical experience. On the industry end, it is also working to enhance industry-university connections and joint talent cultivation. Finally, with respect to local activity, it is promoting cooperation with schools and communities on the ground level, and encouraging teachers and students to participate in and practice social responsibility”.

Center for University Social Responsibility Project Director, Yuhlong Oliver Su, said “the biggest feature of USR education is “learning by doing” through community involvement. It is about connecting teaching with real situations to help students develop knowledge and skills through an integrated learning process. At the same time, we must also think about the USR project’s “sustainable development” element. Each of the USR projects has an end point. So the way to help the results of USR continue to spread, is to transform the practical experience into courses, and use good curriculum design to allow USR literacy to take root in the hearts of university teachers and students, and to shape school culture and daily life.”

NPUST is committed to applying its expertise in science, technology, agriculture, and ecological industries in order to help solve various local problems. It is not only working to cultivate national talent, but also to enhance the way in which universities care for and provide services to local communities. These are also two important axes of development in the academic affairs at NPUST. For example, the “USR Satoyama Economy” team led by Professor Meihui Chen of the Department of Forestry began assisting Wutai Township with the development of the under-forest economic activities after a major typhoon devastated the village. The projects they initiated helped the tribes people to continue to pass on their culture and create vitality for their native communities. The activities were also designed to apply concepts of sustainability, and help protect mountain and forest areas. Another example is the “185 Tropical Organic Mountain Corridor USR Project”, of which NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang and Professor Hsu-Yang Kung participated in. The project, which aims to create eco-friendly industrial economic development, brings together the College of Agriculture, College of Management, and the Professional College, and uses the energy of alumni and agricultural research institutions to jointly promote the digital transformation of local tropical agriculture. At the same time, social practices are being integrated into the related course design so that as the students are engaged in cross-domain learning, they can also learn to care for the local community.

Although the “USR Education Design: Who needs to act?” SIG event was only half a day long, hopes are that it’s impact will be significant and that in the future teachers will be better equipped unite learning and social practices. The process of service helps students develop independent thinking and problem-solving abilities, and allows them to cultivate positive connections with the local community and fulfill the university’s social responsibility.  This year, the Center for University Social Responsibility took a special inventory of 251 third phase USR projects. In total, 171 of the projects offered related courses, such as interdisciplinary, PBL, and capstone courses. In reality, there are still many challenges to be overcome when it comes to curriculum design. This SIG event was organized to help address the challenges. To help with this effort, an invitation was extended to NPUST to jointly explore the feasibility of integrating “participatory action research” or PBL into social practices and curriculum design. Hopes are that by practicing USR, university teachers can begin to connect teaching with social participation, and allow the learning process to become more pragmatic and innovative.