Advancing Instructional Innovation, Industry-Academia Collaboration and Connection

<Achievements>

    The 2024 Higher Education SPROUT Project enhanced student abilities in multiple areas and achieved significant outcomes. Firstly, the UCAN testing showed that students' scores for “Information technology application” and “communication and expression” increased from 3.78 to 4.00 and 3.82, respectively. Up to 1,319 students took part in digital technology micro-courses with a completion rate of 95.44%. Additionally, 66.23% of undergraduate students completed STEAM courses/programs. The percentage of students who studied courses on humanistic care also increased to 77.12%, up 7.25% from the previous year. The data showed that significant progress was made on the promotion of information, STEAM, and humanities education. The fundamentals for cross-disciplinary learning are now in place and a total of 404 courses were set up in 2024, up 18.08% from last year.

    In cross-disciplinary learning, the cross-disciplinary abilities of undergraduate students employed the design of modular courses and cross-disciplinary curricula to integrate different disciplines and application abilities. In 2014, 53.82% of undergraduate students enrolled in interdisciplinary courses, up 25.6% from last year. At the same time, 12 teachers took part in cross-disciplinary cooperation and set up 12 courses. They also offered 46 general knowledge courses for experience, practical, and case studies to achieve a 100% completion rate.

    In the cultivation of self-directed learning ability, the motivation and methodology of lifelong learning by students were emphasized by the SPROUT Project. UCAN testing showed student scores for “Lifelong learning” increased slightly to 3.83. In 2024, 157 new self-directed learning courses were added. The number of participants in the community reached 457, an increase of 15.1%. Teachers set up 841 courses with problem- and project-oriented teaching methods, which is up 12.9% from last year. General knowledge courses on media literacy and information literacy also grew by 30.8%. Such measures helped students develop their self-directed learning ability and enhanced their ability to adapt to fast-changing knowledge.

    For the cultivation of international mobility, English Medium of Instruction (EMI) courses and associated support systems were set up. The targets for enhancing English proficiency were set as at least 25% and 50% of sophomore students passing English Level B2 on the CEFR by 2024 and 2030, respectively. EMI course structure design, teacher development, and student support measures were promoted to boost student competitiveness in international settings and ensure that they can perform effectively in globalized learning and work environments.

    In problem-solving ability, UCAN testing showed a significant increase in student scores for “problem solving” ability from 3.89 to 3.99. Several colleges entered and achieved strong results at ICCAD, ACM Student Research Competition and other competitions. Accolades were repeatedly won at domestic and overseas academic competitions. Students were encouraged to apply what they learned to their problem-solving ability and hone their problem-solving skills through industry-academia cooperation and academic research.

    In conclusion, the 2024 Higher Education SPROUT Project demonstrated significant progress in areas such as information technology, humanistic care, cross-discipline, self-directed learning, international mobility, and problem-solving. Through systematic course design, diversified learning opportunities, and support measures, the Project effectively enhanced a variety of student abilities. Student competitiveness in terms of knowledge, skills, and adaptivity was enhanced, so they are now better equipped to face the challenges of learning and the requirements of the job market in the future. The improvements to the quality of education reflected the efforts made by the NCU in higher education reform and innovation. The NCU will continue to promote the diversified development of students through practical and innovative strategies.

[Implementation Highlights]

1. The NCU Higher Education SPROUT Project significantly improved the four core student literacies. Based on the results of the student learning outcomes survey, positive changes in the development of the four core literacies (professional ability, key abilities, integration of learning, application and innovation, humanities and aesthetics) were found between the freshman and senior years among 2023 graduates. The improvements in professional ability, key abilities, and integration of learning, application, and innovation were particularly significant. This showed that the NCU Higher Education SPROUT Project used innovative course design and diversified learning strategies to effectively enhance holistic student growth in knowledge application, problem-solving, and career readiness. Students became better prepared for future challenges.
2. HelioX joined forces with the SpaceBD moon landing program to cultivate future space explorers. HelioX Cosmos Co., Ltd. helped connect NCU with the SpaceBD space services company in Japan to participate in the joint development of “Deep Space Radiation Probe” as well as ispace’s HAKUTO-R Mission 2, the private moon landing program of space in Japan. The probe will be launched with the moon landing mission to carry out scientific research on deep space radiation. The collaboration helped promote transnational cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on space technology. The project will focus on cultivating the practical and problem-solving skills of future astronauts. By participating in a real-world space exploration mission, students and young scientists will gain a more in-depth understanding of the challenges in space technology and be inspired to new heights of creativity.
3. Expansion on campus and corporate internships and helping students transition to the workplace with flexible academic credits. The NCU added and expanded flexible internship elective credit courses to 20 departments. A corporate internship matchmaking event was also held for the first time with 40 corporate partners invited. More than 100 internship openings were provided to give students a wealth of internship opportunities. Took part in the “Northern Taiwan Business Talent Matching Platform Program” to actively assist students with securing corporate internships off-campus. Various channels and corporate connections were employed to boost student employability by enhancing their workplace skills and experience.
4. Three-time winner of Semiconductor Design Award and Cyber Security Competition and multiple awards from the Meteorological Society. Students took part in the NARLabs Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute presentation and won the High Distinction and Distinction awards for design; at the same time, students entered the “Girls in Cyber Security” competition organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology to win the top award in the university category for three straight years. A number of other awards were also won and the winners received an audience with the President. Additionally, NCU students won the High Distinction Award, Distinction Award, and People’s Choice Award at the 2024 Meteorological Society of R.O.C. Research Student Poster Competition.
5. The chosen theme was “Smart Empowerment, Sustainability Leadership” In 2024, specialty patents on campus were entered by the NCU into the 2024 Taiwan Innovation Expo where they won 4 golds, 3 silvers, and 5 bronzes. Our exceptional technology R&D capability received widespread acclaim. To expand our regional industry-academia capabilities, the NCU not only engaged in industry-academia cooperation with a number of enterprises including FPCC, Delta Electronics, CPC, TaiPower, and Foxconn, but also stayed in close contact with local academic research units such as Chunghwa Telecom Laboratories. At the same time, we also joined with other universities to form a technology research industrialization platform. This year, the platform was expanded to include cooperation with universities in New Taipei City for joint matchmaking on patented technologies in AI and green sustainability. Our partnership with other universities to promote the commercialization of patents and technologies converted academic research power into a force for a better society.
6. Co-incubation of value-adding innovation talent. In 2024, we continued to cultivate cadre instructors, helped set up 3 spin-off enterprises, and commenced construction of an innovation exchange space. This year, the support of the Taoyuan City Government meant a total of 238 teams enthusiastically took part in the 2024 Rising Startup Competition. The 2024 Tayouan FuturePeak was also expanded this year, with 100 start-up teams from around the world invited to explore new business opportunities and expand their industry horizons.

Make resources more public

    In 2024, tuition fees were reduced or discounted 556 times; tuition assistance was provided to 377 disadvantaged students, up 51% from 2023. To boost the admission of economically or culturally disadvantaged students by implementing a strategy for recruiting disadvantaged students and marketing in senior high schools, the “Early Admission with GSAT Program” was introduced in the 2016 academic year. Students from alternate educational backgrounds were admitted in the 2018 academic year to offer students with special abilities or alternate educational backgrounds the opportunity to start at NCU and increase the diversity of university admissions. The admission quota was initially 11 places but has expanded over the years to 22 places in the 2025 academic year. Diverse mentoring mechanisms were used to strengthen the quality of mentoring for economically or culturally disadvantaged students. Online and offline information sessions on tuition assistance programs were aggressively conducted every semester, with explanations provided by the organizers of each scholarship or grant. Student Q&A sessions were also held to actively learn about students' problems or difficulties during application. The combined efforts of every unit saw the number of assistance recipients increase from 358 in 2023 to 390 in 2024, an increase of 8.9% that boosted our schooling assistance results and capabilities.

Fulfillment of Social Responsibility

　　NCU USR leveraged the professional teaching and research expertise at the established “Graduate College of Sustainability and Green Energy” to continue partnering with businesses and the local community on joint promotion of civic dialog and green lifestyle solutions for energy, industry, lifestyle, and social transition. The University’s expertise was employed to assist the Taoyuan City Government, district offices, and village offices with implementing sustainability actions for phased net zero and carbon reduction. Additionally, NCU built on our exploration of climate adaptation, carbon storage, and geothermal energy in recent years. In May 2024, the NCU Polar Research Institute assist the National Plant Genetic Resources Center of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Dr. Cecilia Koo Botanic Conservation Center, and representatives of the Taiwanese Paiwan Tribe with delivering 170 precious millet germplasm to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in arctic Norway. The delivery represented an important milestone for Taiwan’s participation in international agricultural sustainability and biodiversity initiatives. It also ushered in a new era for polar scientific cooperation on global response to climate change and promotion of species sustainability.

Internationalized Administrative Support System

Aiming to achieve the goal of “enhancing the administrative support system and shaping a friendly international campus”, NCU has implemented several measures. For international students, multilingual websites have been developed, diverse Mandarin courses and one-on-one tutoring program have been offered, activities to enhance culture and life adaptation have also been provided. For International Teaching and Research Staffs, there are not only bilingual facilities been completed, but also priority housing plans developed. For administrative staffs, through organizing English language improvement workshops for two consecutive years, the number of staff holding English proficiency certificates increased by 7.2% in 2024 compared to 2023.

Featured international colleges/disciplines

• Key research into sustainable planet

The sustainable planet team established the Polar Research Institute to promote the “pursuit of sustainability by adding precious Taiwanese millet seeds to the arctic seed vault.” An agreement was signed with Norway’s Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC) to cooperate on ocean remote sensing and climate change research. Another agreement was signed with the Hokkaido University Arctic Research Center to promote bilateral cooperation and academic exchange in the future. Overseas research/study employed for joint transnational cultivation of PhD. students and global experts in disaster prevention/climate change. Students were chosen to participate in the 2024 INSPIRE small satellite R&D internship project and intern at the University of Colorado Boulder. The internship included mission conceptualization and system definition for the COSPAR-1 international satellite mission. NCU collaborated with SpaceBD, a Japanese private space company, to launch the first international moon landing program as well as connect domestic and international space industries.

• Sustainability, net zero emissions and green smart manufacturing

The sustainability and net zero team collaborated with the Hiroshima University and Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology on the development key academic theories, core technologies, and patents with market potential. It also collaborated with PCB and wafer foundries such as Global Wafers and TXC to develop smart low-energy green production process technologies; and with Acon Greenergy Technology to develop low-energy, recyclable, high-end battery materials and break into the international market with products based on optimized mass production processes. The team actively promoted CO₂ conversion technology, as well as technology applications and green process technologies that support a circular economy. In hydrogen storage, NCU partnered with other universities in Australia and Singapore to develop net zero carbon emissions and renewable energy grids. High-entropy alloys were used as hydrogen storage material that can be integrated into the power grid. UNSW students were successfully invited to visit Taiwan for research and exchange. In addition, exchanges and visits were also conducted with students from Vietnam and Malaysia, greatly boosting the level of internationalization in our talent development.

• Energy-efficient electronics and AI-driven sustainability technology

Team is already engaged in long-term collaboration with Qualcomm Inc. Software Defined Radio (DR) technology has already been used to develop radio communication courses and a number of industry-academia collaboration projects relating to radars, low-earth orbit satellites, and millimetric communications. Research into B5G/6G related technologies is also being actively pursued. We have even connected with the energy industry to propose the development of energy management solutions for power supply products. In care technology, a collaboration was set up with the University of Southern California in the U.S. to develop technologies with military applications such as stress resistance cognitive training, anti-motion sickness cognitive training, and mental health assessments based on virtual persons. Collaboration with Purdue University in the U.S. focuses on psychology and cognition in precision sports science to co-develop a multi-modal sensing and AI assessment system.

• Sustainable health and smart healthcare

Partnered with the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM), American Heart Association (AHA), Department of Biomedical Engineering at Washington University, and the Department of Cardiology and Department of Biomedical Engineering at Yale School of Medicine to implement the “Precision Care Platform for Cardiac Patients” and promote research into precision healthcare. NCU collaborated with Oxford University in the UK to explore exosomes and the occurrence of Alzheimer’s Disease and collaborated with the French Agricultural Research and International Cooperation Organization (CIRAD) to improve rice plant resistance to high temperatures and reduce the impact of high temperatures on yield, quality, and growth. Partnered with Purdue University in the U.S. on precision sports science; invited to serve as the chief editor of the Progress in Brain Research international academic journal. Partnered with the Tiny Blue Dot Foundation in the U.S. to subsidize research into non-linear brainwave analysis and non-invasive brain stimulation technologies. This was the first proposal from Asia to be approved. Commissioned by an MOE program in 2024 to host the New Southbound International Symposium with top scholars from New Southbound countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, and Nepal invited to establish a transnational network of professional academics. The smart healthcare team combined single-lead ESG with AI recognition model to introduce community screening in partnership with the Taoyuan City Department of Public Health and Tzu Chi Foundation. Promotion of AI smart education and biomedical science seminar teaching services, partnership with local junior high and elementary schools in Taoyuan, and promotion of cognitive neural science seminar.