Advancing Instructional Innovation, Industry-Academia Collaboration and Connection

<Achievements>

　　Under the 2023 High Education SPROUT Project, NCU focused on enhancing the information technology application and humanistic care abilities of students. University Career and Competency Assessment Network (UCAN) test data showed that the score for “information technology application” ability increased from 3.78 to 4.00 while the score for “communication and expression” increased from 3.76 to 3.96. Up to 1,382 students took part in digital technology micro-courses, up 12% from 2022. Up to 5,147 undergraduate students completed STEAM-related courses. These represented 99.78% of all undergraduates and the completion rate was 97%. Students that completed courses on humanistic care numbered 4,459, up 4.27% from 2022 and accounted for 71% of all undergraduates. The above data showed that course design and learning support by NCU were successful in improving the general ability of students in terms of information technology and basic humanities.

Significant progress was also made in the fostering of cross-disciplinary learning. In 2023, cross-disciplinary courses were completed by 1,675 undergraduate students completed and represented 26.54% of all undergraduates. Up to 293 students took part in cross-disciplinary curricula with a completion rate of 83%. 11 teachers participated in cross-disciplinary co-teaching and opened 12 cross-disciplinary courses for a completion rate of 100%. More modular courses were also offered, with 615 set up in total. These accounted for 28.56% of all NCU courses and represented an increase of 0.27% compared to 2022. The NCU employed teaching collaborations and diversified course design to cultivate the cross-disciplinary learning ability of students and lay down the foundations for their future professional development.

Improvement of self-directed learning ability was also one of the key goals of this project. The UCAN test score for “Continuous Learning” for pre-testing was 3.83 and this dropped slightly to 3.81 after post-testing. The number of students that took part in self-directed learning courses reached 270, up 4.4% from 2022. The number of participants in Creative Communities also reached 397, an increase of 6.72%. A total of 745 problem-based or project-based courses were offered by the NCU, up 7% from 2022. 62 teachers took part in the development of teaching materials for self-directed learning as well, up 48% from 2022. The above data showed that self-directed learning was actively supported by the NCU through additional resources and support.

In terms of international mobility, the Bilingual Education Center hosted 48 workshops with a cumulative attendance of 1,135 people. The number of English Medium of Instruction (EMI) courses is increasing steadily. Targets have been set by NCU for improving the English proficiency of students, with 25% of sophomore students to have passed English level B2 on the CEFR by 2024 and 50% by 2030. Such efforts not only enhance the English communication skills of students but also boost student willingness and ability to participate in international exchanges.

In terms of industry-academia collaboration and connection, the UCAN test results for “Problem Solving” gave a score of 3.87 for both pre- and post-testing, indicating the steady development of that ability. In 2023, 90 students took part in internships for a completion rate of 83.33%. A number of awards were also won at competitions by students from a number of colleges in 2023. The NCU provided students with a training ground for problem solving through internships and professional competitions. Students were also encouraged to hone their professional skills through practice.

In conclusion, the 2023 Higher Education SPROUT Project achieved significant progress in multiple areas. Upgrading of instructional innovation, self-directed learning, cross-disciplinary courses and international mobility not only served to cultivate the professional ability of students, but also strengthened their sophistication in the humanities, cross-disciplinary collaboration, problem-solving ability, and global competitiveness. Proactive support for disadvantage students was promoted as well.

[Implementation Highlights]

1. Continued growth and major increases in participation in instructional innovation and practice research. In 2023, 43 teaching innovation project proposals were made, and the approval rate was 93.02%. The number of applications grew by 79.17% compared to last year. In 2024, there were 47 proposals, an increase of 57% over 2023. Universities are, therefore, continuing to increase their investment in instructional innovation and practice research. Greater teacher participation also translated into further improvements in teaching quality.
2. Global competitiveness of smart technology and manufacturing: Examples: a graduate student won the best paper award at the “2023 International Conference on Advanced Robotics and Intelligent Systems (ARIS); winning the gold award at Symtek Automation Asia “ 2023 Smart Manufacturing Technology Paper Competition” demonstrated student innovation and hands-on ability in smart manufacturing; student took part in the 2023 International Conference on Computer-Aided Design (ICCAD) and won first in a demonstration international competitiveness in semiconductor and electronic design.
3. Outstanding results in the cultivation of health and biomedical expertise: A student team led by the NCU Cognitive Intelligence & Precision Healthcare Research Center took part in the 2023 Garmin Health international challenge, where it won 1st place in Asia in the sports health category and showcased its leadership in health technology. A team also won 1st place in the “2023 National Biomedical Engineering Day - Innovation Medical Material Competition” in a demonstration of our prowess in innovative medical devices. A team won the merit award at the “2nd Garage Entrepreneurship Start-up Challenge (2023)” and went on to collaborate with the Taichung Veterans General Hospital on the “SPARK Project” at the China Medical University to promote the development and application of the biomedical industry.
4. Development of environmental sustainability and cross-disciplinary innovation: Students achieved the highest win-rate and won the high distinction award at the “2023 National Earth System Science Research Competition” and the “2023 Atmospheric Science Graduate Conference”, and a clean sweep of the “2023 Weather Hackathon.” The NCU won two gold medals at the “2023 Taiwan Innotech Expo.” Outstanding performances in smart manufacturing and energy innovation competitions netted a silver award in Smart Robotics, a solid run at the Asia Bridge Competition, and a silver medal in green energy innovation. The awards highlighted our students’ ability in environmental sustainability, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and problem-solving.
5. Connecting industry and academia to generate value from innovative scientific research: NCU won 3 golds, 3 silvers, 5 bronzes, and 2 enterprise special awards at Taiwan Innotech Expo Invention Awards in 2023. We topped all Taiwanese universities in the medal tally and came first for the second year; the NCU continued to work closely with the industry as well during 2023. A joint research center and semiconductor curriculum was set up with Win Semiconductors Corp. In the same year, the NCU marshaled the cross-disciplinary capabilities of our Earth Sciences, Computer Science, Engineering, and Management faculties to join 8 leading enterprises, including Sinotech Engineering, Formosa Plastics, and Kinsus, to co-found the “Graduate College of Sustainability and Green Energy.” The NCU-industry partnership is aimed at searching for sustainability solutions and cultivating the high-level expertise needed by the industry together.
6. Enhance innovative spin-offs: The promotion of “Talent Innovation Promotion” and “Campus Innovation Promotion” cultivated 5 cadre instructors in 2023. The knowledge they learned was introduced to the classroom to cultivate a number of teams, and they founded 4 spin-off companies. Innovation workshops, Rising Startup Competition, and Taoyuan Entrepreneurship Day were organized as well to promote entrepreneurship on campus.

Make resources more public

The NCU joined the SPROUT schooling assistance mechanism in 2018. Phase 1, between 2018 and 2019, focused on the establishment of related mechanisms, rules, and systems for the integration of resources between related NCU units. Between 2020 and 2024, the counseling mechanism was progressively amended to integrate inter-division/office resources, and add more counseling units, resources, and activities in each discipline. During COVID-19, online counseling activities and online career expos as well as rolling adjustments to counseling mechanisms were also added to facilitate student counseling and learning. Once COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in 2023, the number of counseling sessions and participants greatly increased, resulting in a 94% increase in academic counseling services for economically disadvantaged students compared to 2022.

Fulfillment of Social Responsibility

    NCU USR focused its efforts on the development of NCU communities specializing in the conservation of stone weir ecology, Hakka culture studies, and polar climate studies during 2023. The International Conference of the Conservation and Maintenance of Stone Tidal Weirs and the World Congress of Hakka Studies were also held one after another in support of the World Hakka Expo organized by the Hakka Affairs Council to build transnational expertise on environmental sustainability and cultural innovation. To build on the foundations of NCU’s longstanding research into climate change and continue to obtain first-hand data from international polar research, the “Taiwan Carbon Storage and Geothermal Research Center” was established by the NCU in 2023 to continue promoting NCU research into negative carbon technologies such as carbon storage and geothermal energy, pilot trials for green energy, and public dialog on social transition.

Featured international colleges/disciplines

• Key research into sustainable planet

Over 15 teachers and students were drawn to the polar research program. Senior high school Earth science teachers were also hand-picked to take part in an exchange program with Ny- Ålesund Research Station to boost Taiwan’s international influence in polar science. The “Taiwan Polar Institute” focusing on polar warming and sustainability science was established in September in partnership with the National Academy of Marine Research and Nicolas Copernicus University in Poland. An autonomous observation post was also constructed to transition from data recipient to data supplier so that we can play a greater role in global climate change issues. At the same time, we are collaborating with the Central Weather Bureau and the Taoyuan City Government to construct the Oceanographical Monitoring System. Once the system is completed by next year, its real-time early warning technology can be activated in support of coastal management policy and promotion of ocean education; the transnational air pollution monitoring IoT is working with other countries as well to roll-out AIoT systems and train related expertise. The “Carbon Storage and Geothermal Research Center” was established to integrate internal/external resources for supporting research into carbon storage and geothermal energy. The Center provides the government and businesses with site survey, experimentation, and risk assessment services to support the development of low-carbon and renewable energy.

• Sustainability, net zero emissions and green smart manufacturing

The sustainability and net zero emissions team took part in exchanges on cutting-edge battery materials and energy storage cell technologies with the Kyushu University and National Institute for Material Science in Japan, as well as the NTHU, ITRI, and CPC. A collaborative research project on Proton Conducting Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell (P-SOEC) was conducted with Gdansk University of Technology and other top learning institutes. Research into hydrogen energy was conducted in conjunction with the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

• Energy-efficient electronics and AI-driven sustainability technology

The team was invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs technical mission to St. Christopher and Nevis to give a presentation on “networked microgrid energy management and dispatching technology” at the “Renewable Energy Development Strategy Consultation” conference. The team also discussed challenges facing the local grid systems with management and technical personnel from the local power company. The NCU sought to strengthen the resilience and reliability of the networked microgrid through technologies that enhanced the flexibility, responsibility, and dispatching of grid systems. The core components of a smart networked microgrid such as distributed generation, energy storage, energy dispatching, and power quality maintenance technologies were integrated through a multi-layered control system to ensure the realization of targets for effective energy utilization, enhanced load management, system upgrades, and better power quality.

• Sustainable health and smart healthcare

The smart healthcare team collaborated with Harvard Medical School in the U.S. Its imaging technology for functional cardiac digital twin was the first technique in the world for virtual ischemic model imaging. TFDA and FDA validation is now underway and a point-of-care platform for heart failure patients is now being developed. A collaboration was also set up with Oxford University on exosomes and the occurrence of Alzheimer’s Disease; research into long-term exposure PM and colon cancer cells was conducted to search for key genes involved in the spread, progression, or recurrence of cancer, and establish the key adverse outcome pathways for PM2.5 to contribute to the progression of colon cancer; using the fruit fly colon cancer model for drug candidate testing and genetic screening in order to establish the appropriate genetic background for target drugs; development of novel treatment strategy for pediatric neuroblastoma that effectively triggers apoptosis of neuroblastoma; in social responsibility, single-lead ESG was combined with AI recognition model to introduce community screening in partnership with the Tzu Chi Foundation; partnered with the city government on a remote AFib localization system that is the first service of its kind in the world. Promotion o AI smart education and biomedical science seminar teaching services in cooperation with local small and medium enterprises in Taoyuan City.