NPUST’s president, Chin-Lung Chang, attended the press conference to announce the success of the National Practical Project Competition. He said that “technical and vocational education is an important driver of Taiwan’s industrial and economic development. In order for students to put what they have learned into practice and verify market trends and needs, NPUST continues to encourage them to participate in the national technical and vocational school practical production competitions. Through the current competition, the students were able to closely connect with the industry and put into practice the concept of ‘pragmatic and useful’ technical and vocational education”.

The project which won the first place in the “Energy and Environmental Protection Group” was entitled “TuckiTuck – Recycling and Reuse of Wooden Furniture Waste”. For this project, under the joint guidance of Professor Ming-Feng Wang and Professor Way Long of the Department of Wood Science and Design, students used fiberboard materials from discarded furniture to increase fiberboard recycling rates, achieve multiple cycles of recycling, reduce the use of new materials, reduce resource waste, and promote a sustainable circular economy model.

The “PIÉTON – Research on the Development of Biomimetic Leather Film Using Bacterial Cellulose” project won second place in the “Energy and Environmental Protection Group”. In this project, which was supervised by Professor Tung-Lin Wu from the Department of Wood Science and Design, the student team developed a bio-fiber material from renewable resources as a substitute leather. After market research, it was found that although the product still has different properties from commercially available leather, the plasticity, touch, and other properties of the material hold potential in the faux-leather market.

The “Birds Arrive Home – Establishing an Ecologically Restorative and Mutually Beneficial Economic Model”, which won the second place in the “Business Group”, was developed under the guidance of Professor Zaou-Jun Deng of the Department of Wood Science and Design. This project brings science to the public by providing people with an understanding of mountain sparrows and getting them involved in conservation by instructing them how to make and set up nest boxes, then participate in subsequent observations. A webpage also provides the public with instant notifications about the arrival of the birds, thereby heightening awareness and the experience of active participation. Thanks to the training provided by NPUST’s higher education project for innovation and entrepreneurship and the Ministry of Education’s innovation and entrepreneurship education project, the team’s work is now highly mature, and by raising funds through short videos on educational platforms, they have successfully demonstrated the ability to integrate wood science and business models.

Professor Tai-Sheng Su from the Department of Industrial Management oversaw the team which developed a “Solar-Powered Smart Beehive” with monitoring and identification capabilities. For their work, the team was awarded third place in the “Business Group”. By collecting research data on bee ecology and allowing for real-time monitoring of bee colony conditions with precise management and controls, the team’s work is able to make significant contributions to the beekeeping industry.

Finally, a team led by Professor Hsu-Yang Kung and Professor Jian-Liang Pan from the Department of Information Management won the Excellence Award in the “Information Engineering and Communications Group” for a multimodal AI system that they developed to detect and warn against pests and diseases in agriculture. By combining imaging, acoustics and other environmental sensors, the system uses AI to analyze the number pests and their behavior and provide real-time monitoring and prevention recommendations. This way they are able to reducing the impact of pests and diseases and contribute to the transition to smart agriculture and sustainable development.

Using Real-Time Data and AI to Provide Reliable Weather Forecasting

The portable real-time AI weather forecasting system was developed by Professor Hudson Hsu of the NPUST Sustainable Circular Economy R&D Center. It integrates hydrological data from meteorological satellites and meteorological ground stations and is equipped with the team’s self-developed AI deep learning algorithm. It can accurately predict weather and hydrological changes within the next 3 hours and provide wind speed and wave height forecasts for the next 6 days. With real-time data reception and an automatic correction computing module, the system allows for significantly improved prediction accuracy over traditional models. It has a wide range of applications and has a low-cost and portable design which allows for easy deployment. The Taiwan Navy has verified its reliability and confirmed its suitability for planning fishing vessel and yacht operations.

Highly-Efficient Green Energy Plant Factory Quadruples Production Capacity 

The High-Efficiency Energy-Saving Plant Factory was developed by a team working under Assistant Professor Hsing-Ying Chung from the Department of Plant Industry. It incorporates LED spectrum control, hydroponic nutrient feeding and solar panel power generation into a system that allows for stable production throughout the year. In response to the needs of domestic patients suffering from kidney disease, the team also developed a patented technology for growing low-potassium fruits and vegetables, thus providing new options for healthy eating. In an area of ​​300 square meters, the technology also allows for the plant density to increase from 25,000 plants to 100,000, and it shortens the cultivation period from 50 days to 35 days—greatly improving production efficiency and use of resources. The Green Energy Plant Factory saves water, reduces reliance on fertilizer and combines renewable energy to effectively contribute to several sustainable development goals, including “Climate Action”, “Health and Well-being” and “Responsible Production and Consumption”.

Integration of Teaching and Research Promotes Talent Cultivation and Stimulates Innovation  

During the exhibition, students from NPUST’s Smart Mechatronics Bachelor Degree Program and Department of Biomechatronics Engineering also visited the exhibition site to participate in guided tours and exchanges. Not only did the event help emphasize practical operational capabilities and industry-university integration, but it also gave students a deeper understanding of smart agriculture, AI meteorology, and net-zero technology, providing them with insights which will be of value to them on their future career paths.