CAMPUS ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION

The morning featured a campus ecological education tour, where NPUST guides led attending faculty and student representatives to visit the renowned Pingtung Rescue Center, which plays a vital role in both education and research activities.

Since its establishment in 1992, the center has provided care for over 5,000 animals and currently houses nearly a thousand individuals and approximately 100 species of protected wildlife. Covering an area of about 2.5 hectares, the Rescue Center boasts comprehensive medical and animal care facilities which are used to assist the government in handling endangered and controlled wildlife. It stands as a crucial wildlife conservation base in Taiwan, disseminating knowledge about wildlife protection and proper animal husbandry through activities such as public visits, volunteer training, and summer camps.

SHARED GOVERNANCE AND COLLABORATION

The afternoon agenda focused on two major themes: “Thematic Sharing” and “Working Group Reports.” During the thematic sharing session, Director Yao-Ming Hong of the NDHU Sustainable Development Center and Director Yun-Tzu Chang of the NTUST Construction and Maintenance Division shared their universities’ practical experiences in energy conservation, discussing concrete measures for campus energy management and sustainable facility improvements.

Covering the topic of biodiversity, Hsiao-Lang Wang of the NTU Office of Sustainability and Director Hsin-Yi Wu of the NCU Office of Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility discussed strategies for safeguarding ecological diversity, sharing their approaches and achievements in campus ecological maintenance and ecological diversity promotion.

During the “Working Group Reports”, NTOU led the session on Sustainable Curriculum with Director Wen-Jer Chang of their Center for Social Responsibility Practice and Sustainable Development presenting on the topic. In his presentation, he shared on the university’s practical experiences and outcomes in sustainable curriculum design and teaching innovation. Looking at the topic of Campus Greenhouse Gas Inventory, Administrative Specialist Cheng-Che Lee of NTNU’s Sustainable Development Center reported on the progress and experiences of member universities in conducting campus-wide greenhouse gas inventories.

The annual meeting helps foster communication among members and gives participants an opportunity to explore different pathway for implementing sustainable university campus governance together.

ABOUT THE ALLIANCE

The Taiwan University Alliance for Sustainable Governance was established in 2022, jointly initiated by nine national universities: NPUST, NTU, NTNU, NTUST, NTOU, NCU, NCHU, NSYSU, and NDHU. The Alliance aims to build a network for exchange among higher education institutions, enabling them to shoulder the responsibility for university sustainable development and social commitment. Through continuous experience sharing and collaborative dialogue, the Alliance seeks to expand the influence of Taiwan’s higher education in the field of sustainable development and create a solid foundation for Taiwan’s sustainable future.

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.

The Taiwan pangolin (Manis pentadactyla pentadactyla) is a rare and precious subspecies of pangolin which is endemic to Taiwan. According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture’s Biodiversity Research Institute, over the past decade more than 70% of pangolin injuries were caused by dog ​​attacks. These attacks often cause broken tails which make it impossible for the pangolin to carry their pups—thus affecting the success rate of the rearing process. With the results of Sun’s recent study, the field of pangolin conservation now as new and important reference to consider. Additionally, the data collected by Sun’s team has also helped develop a clearer picture of the symbiotic relationship of pangolins, termites, and various vegetation. The researchers intend to use their results to establish local pangolin conservation models and create ecological industries. They also hope to promote their model throughout Taiwan and work with various partners to protect Taiwan’s fragile shallow-mountain ecosystems and its rich biodiversity.

The distinguished guests included Director Ming-Hsi Lee of the Department of Soil and Water Conservation, Legislator Lung Yang Tseng of the Pingtung County Government, Director Kuo-Feng Chiang of the Pingtung County Department of Water Resources, Chief Kuo-Feng Hwang of the Agency of Rural Development and Soil and Water Conservation, and Deputy Director Jui-Min Chu of the Tainan Branch of the Agency of Rural Development and Soil and Water Conservation. Event organizers also invited related agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture, local governments, the National Science and Technology Museum, the Water Conservation Cool-School, and relevant departments of the Pingtung County Government to come together to help convey the importance of soil and water conservation and jointly promote the goal of “creating a sustainable countryside”.

The 21 promotional booths were divided according to three major themes, including ‘Soil and Water Conservation Education”’, ‘Soil and Water Conservation & Disaster Prevention’ and ‘Environmental Friendliness’. The ‘Soil and Water Conservation Education’ booths helped the public understand the important role of soil and water conservation and sustainable rural practices through a variety of games. At the ‘Disaster Prevention’ booths, well designed props showed the types of slope disasters that can take place and explained the prevention methods which have been developed to avoid those disasters. Meanwhile, at the ‘Environmental Friendliness’ themed booths, visitors could explore such topics as net-zero green living, food safety, health protection, and workplace applications. In this way, the visitors were provided with a comprehensive look at multiple aspects of the environment and life, and were able to gain practical knowledge that is beneficial to themselves and to the environment.

At the donation ceremony which was held on May 14, 2025, NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang expressed his gratitude to Watt Solid State Lighting, saying “these LED street lights have excellent energy-saving benefits and match well with concepts that the university has been promoting for many years, including both Green university policies and sustainable development. What is even more valuable is that they can be monitored in real time and automatically adjusted through the Internet of Things according to sunlight intensity. They are also being used in agriculture research and have helped improve research and teaching efficiency. We hope that both sides can work together on more levels in the future to create a sustainable future.”

The general manager of Watt Solid State Lighting expressed that he was “very honored to have the opportunity to give back to NPUST, and would also like to thank Assistant Professor Hsing-Ying Chung from the Department of Plant Industry for holding exchanges and providing technical guidance. We are very pleased to see that our products can play a role in daily campus life and scientific research. We look forward to deepening our cooperation in the future and jointly promoting green innovation.”

The smart LED street lights donated by Watt are equipped with sensing and energy-saving technologies. Their features include automatic light adjustment, long operating life, high brightness and low power consumption. By effectively reducing energy usage, they embody concepts of environmental protection. The smart sensing functions can automatically adjust the lighting intensity according to the ambient brightness and human traffic, giving consideration to both safety and efficiency. With the support of Walt Solid State Lighting, NPUST has improved its campus environment and is also expanding its industry-university cooperation and practice of social responsibility.

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.

A total of 126 elementary schools participated in the E-Sports Competition. The competitors included 377 students who were selected from 5,188 of their peers to participate in the county-wide competition. Based on the results from today, 10 students were selected to move on to the Taiwan semi-finals for the Environmental Education E-sports Competition PaGamO International Cup.

The scale of the event was quite grand with 42 promotional booths set up on site to promote the importance of environmental protection and disaster prevention education. One of the highlights of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology’s exhibition was the display on “Applications and Practical Observations of Weirs.” Here students and parents learned about water intake and measuring facilities by observing the hydraulic models the students had prepared for demonstrations. The other main attraction at the booth was the students’ display on “cocoa shell recycling” which presented ways to use innovative recycling methods to turn an agricultural waste product into products with value—such as building materials or renewable energy sources. By creating innovative resource recycling and carbon reduction techniques, the students are helping to further the goal of net zero carbon emissions.

The morning session was moderated by Dr. Chien-Ho Lu from the NPUST Center for Agricultural, Forestry, Fishery, Livestock and Aquaculture Carbon Emission Inventory and Emerging Compounds (CAFEC). During the session, Carbon Manager Kai-Tse Hsiao shared on the topic of “Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Climate Change Response”, exploring the impact that global warming and greenhouse gases have on policy and economics. Dr. Chien-Ho Lu then used the topic of “Low Carbon and Carbon Footprint Industry Applications under Net Zero Trends” to explain the “2050 net zero policy” and look at ways in which local manufacturing industries can be transformed and upgraded. Finally, doctoral candidate Chih-Cheng Lin spoke on “Smart Meters and Power Safety: The Application of AI in Anomaly Detection”, illustrating the innovative practices of using artificial intelligence technology in low-carbon processes and carbon inventory.

For the afternoon session, the moderator was Dr. Rong-Fu Chen from the Division of Plastic Surgery at Kaohsiung Medical University. In his talk on “Exosomes and Regenerative Medicine: Frontier Technology to Promote Environmental Sustainable Health Industry”, he discussed the application of exosomes and regenerative medicine under environmental influences. Following this, Dr. Chia-Wei Liu from the National Center for Geriatrics and Welfare Research presented on “Microorganisms and Environmental Health Sustainable Industries: The Relationship between Intestines, the Environment and Social Behavior”. In his lecture, he analyzing the impact of environmental pollutants on intestines and social behavior. Finally, Dr. Anupama, also from the National Center for Geriatrics and Welfare Research, gave a speech in English, explaining how the government and businesses can work together to create a win-win strategy for the environment and health care by giving focus to drinking water, sewage and groundwater.

From greenhouse gas inventory to innovative strategies used in health care and sustainable industries—the seminar was an opportunity for participants to share a wide range of practical experiences. The seminar was also a demonstration of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology’s foresight in the realm of environmentally sustainable and low-carbon technology, and another example of the way in which it is taking solid steps in cross-disciplinary industry-university cooperation.

This year’s GreenMetric evaluation considered six major indicators including: (1) infrastructure, (2) energy and climate change, (3) waste treatment, (4) water resources, (5) transportation and (6) education. With a maximum potential score of 10,000 points, NPUST set a new record for itself this year at 9,050 points—175 points higher than last year.

In recent years, NPUST has actively integrated the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into its teaching and research activities. In the 2023 Academic Year, it offered a total of 2,924 courses related to environment and sustainability, which exceeds 50% of the total number of its courses. NPUST also encourages its teachers to engage in environmental and sustainability-related projects and continuously strengthen their capacity to conduct sustainable research.

In terms of “green transportation” and “net-zero transformation”, NPUST has gradually introduced green-energy electric buses and is providing rental services for electric scooters and bicycles to reduce carbon emissions. Aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2049 and create a “low-carbon energy-saving campus”, NPUST is also promoting green energy and renewable energy power generation so that it can become energy self-sufficient.

In order to facilitate relevant international exchange, in 2012 NPUST established the University Network for Tropical Agriculture (UNTA). This year (2024), on the school’s 100^th anniversary, NPUST also expand its regular UNTA meeting to include an International Conference on Sustainability. Giving focus to “university social responsibility” and “Sustainable Development”, the conference created an opportunity to discuss transformational innovations promoted via USR and technological applications of artificial intelligence in agriculture.

This year, to facilitate with the creation of “value added agriculture” and the cultivation “cross-field talent”, NPUST built a new Center for Technological Agriculture, where it will develop smart agricultural technology and train young farmers and agricultural professional to champion Taiwan’s agricultural transformation.

NPUST’s hard work and remarkable successes on the GreenMetric Rankings for 11 consecutive years are obvious to all. Upholding its commitments to sustainable development and environmental protection, NPUST will continue to integrate sustainable culture and social responsibility as it works to become a world class comprehensive university of agricultural science and technology in the years ahead.

NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang said “this ultrasound equipment will not only add to the bolster the school’s resources for training students in diagnostics, but will also enhance the clinical service capabilities of the teaching hospital. In the future, the NPUST College of Veterinary Medicine will continue to build a professional veterinary education platform to further promote the development of Smart and precision animal medicine. “

Jui-Yang Hsu, Director of Toufen Animal Hospital, said “during my school years, equipment limitations meant that opportunities to do ultrasound imaging diagnosis were less available. Now, I am very pleased to see the progress and excellence of my alma mater. I hope that through this donation, my juniors will be able to accumulate more experience in veterinary imaging. More hands-on opportunities will help them acquire professional skills and allow them to cultivate talent in imaging diagnostics. We hope these devices will create more possibilities to precision animal medicine and health.”