University Dedication to Creating an Innovative Vision for the Future
National Taiwan University (NTU, hereafter) establishes an interdisciplinary studies program, develops a multidirectional and multidimensional approach to admissions, and forges international links so as to embrace as its overarching goal an original learning framework for disciplinary consolidation and interdisciplinary innovation.
During the 2018-2022 Higher Education SPROUT Project, NTU has established an interdisciplinary studies program, developed a multidirectional and multidimensional approach to admissions, and forged international links so as to embrace as its overarching goal an original learning framework for disciplinary consolidation and interdisciplinary innovation. Owing to the aid of the project, NTU has accomplished the mission of nurturing for the nation an elite of future leaders and talent for epistemic research. Listed as follows are the highlights of project accomplishments:
The Fruition of Teaching Innovations
NTU places students at the core of teaching and learning. To enhance their learning effectiveness and strengthen their interdisciplinary studies, NTU has employed innovative teaching-learning modes such as undergraduate research and digital learning platforms. Listed as follows are highlights of major accomplishments:
1.1 The Promotion of Undergraduate Research for Students to Accumulate Practical Experience and Produce New Knowledge
- During the 2021 academic year, 2987 undergraduate students were enrolled in courses on thesis writing or topical research.
- From 2019 to 2022, more than 200 applications have been approved by MOST Research Grant for University Students, reaching an approval rate of 62% and accounting for 12.48% of applications submitted by public university students.
- In 2022, 31 awards for excellent research or intellectual creation have been received by NTU students.
- The Undergraduate Honors Program has been established to encourage talented students to engage in early research, with 19 departments currently offering this program.
1.2 Disciplinary Consolidation and Interdisciplinary Innovation
- Collegiate specialization programs have been provided to establish a mechanism for flexible learning.
- As of the 2021 academic year, 230 collegiate specializations have been approved.
- Since the 2022 academic year, the first entry to the bachelor’s degree in the interdisciplinary studies program has commenced, with 13 applicants in total, 1 of whom has studied as a double major and 6 of whom have met study qualifications.
- Since the 2022 academic year, NTU Transdisciplinary Bachelor’s Degree Program has commenced, with 40 applicants in total, 15 of whom have been admitted.
- During the 2022 academic year, 950 out of 2808 applications for double minoring have been approved, among which there are 86 approved applications out of 185 submitted by students in the NTU Triangle Alliance Program.
- NTU Academic Advising Office has been established to guide students through course planning.
1.3 The Evidence-Based Advancement of Teaching and Learning
- NTU aCARE—an early warning system for the identification of at-risk students and the provision of counseling and monitoring services—has been established to assist students in elevating their learning effectiveness.
- 89% and 81% of the mentors, according to a survey of user experience, consider NTU aCARE instrumental in elevating counseling efficiency and solving student problems, respectively.
- Questionnaires have been administered to freshmen, existing students, and graduated students, on the basis of which to propose polices on academic affairs.
- A results report on 2019-2021 NTU freshman profiles has been completed.
1.4 Teaching Innovation and Digital Learning
- The self-directed development of NTU COurses OnLine—NTU COOL—has been accomplished to provide course instructors with flexible and diverse teaching modes on a digital platform.
- The NTU Future Classroom has been established, with more than 20 collegiate future classrooms currently in use under the auspices of the University.
- Since the spring semester in the 2018 academic year, credits earned by taking NTU Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on Coursera have been counted as graduation credits upon the successful completion of terminal assessment (on-site exams or paper/proposal submission).
- 83.8% of the students taking MOOCs report exerting higher flexibility in time management and 91% show inclination to take MOOCs again for valid credits, according to the results of teaching surveys.
- The Lecture Recording System has been installed in a total of 59 classrooms in three classroom buildings and connected to NTU COOL, with more than 180 courses requesting the service in the fall semester in the 2022 academic year.
The Development of Distinguishing Features of NTU
NTU attaches the uttermost importance to promoting diversity in admission policies, expediting internationalization to establish NTU as a brand of global repute, and strengthening teaching-research integration and university-industry links. Listed as follows are the highlights of major accomplishments:
2.1 The Expansion of the Hope Admission Scheme to Attract Talented Students
- In the 2023 academic year, there will be a quota of 107 places in the Hope Admission Scheme.
- In the 2023 academic year, there will be a quota of 176 recipients for the Hope/Fu Bell Scholarship.
2.2 The Expedition of Internationalization
- The scholarship program for Latin American and Caribbean nations with which Taiwan has diplomatic relations has been promoted, with the addition of allowances for intra-NTU continued studies and mechanisms for nationwide interscholastic transfer in the 2022 academic year.
- In the 2021 academic year, there were 1834 EMI (English as a medium of instruction) courses.
- In the fall semester in the 2022 academic year, there were 904 EMI courses, among which there were 99 courses on general and liberal education, accounting for 10.79% of all EMI courses.
- In the 2022 academic year, there have been 28 EMI departments and 41 departments (including graduate institutes and degree programs) with a sufficient number of EMI courses that satisfy graduation requirements.
2.3 Teaching-Research Integration and University-Industry Links
- As of the 2022 academic year, more than 115 applications for MOE Teaching Practicing Research Program have been approved, achieving an approval rate higher than the national average within 5 consecutive years.
- 37 research projects are to be funded by NTU Research Project Subsidies.
- In the 2021 academic year, practicals accounted for 8.08% of all courses.
- NTU IoX Center has augmented its services, with an addition of 14 new units.
The Elevation of Public Accessibility of Higher Education
NTU attaches the uttermost importance to providing guidance to financially and culturally disadvantaged students to facilitate their schooling, sharing educational resources, promoting education on science popularization, and developing NTU SDGs in accordance with UN SDGs. Listed as follows are the highlights of major accomplishments:
3.1 Comprehensive Counseling
- As of the 2022 academic years, 12 Hope Family Mentors and 17 Hope Family TAs have collaborated in attending to students admitted under the Hope Admission Scheme.
- Counseling activities such as the freshman orientation camp have achieved attendance rates that range between 82% and 90%.
- All activities have achieved an overall satisfaction rate of 4.7+.
- The Dream Field Comprehensive Supporting Program has benefited 3708 financially and culturally disadvantaged students during the 2022 academic year, providing scholarships and allowances that have amounted up to NTD 18.52 million.
3.2 Resource Sharing and Science Popularization
- To optimize the efficacy of open educational resources, NTU OCW and NTU MOOC + Coursera have been open since the 2022 academic year to all high schools to engage them in NTU Open Online Course Project for High School Students, with more than 300 courses available as electives for high school students to facilitate their autonomous learning.
- There are each year more than 100,000 visitors to NTU Museums and approximately 1500 requests for guiding services conducted in Chinese, English, and Japanese.
- Education on science popularization has been heavily promoted by a number of NTU research centers.
3.3 The Development of Classification Programming of SDGs
- The programming of SDGs-tags, developed by AI algorithms, is scheduled to operate in the 2023 academic year for students to facilitate their course planning.
The Fulfillment of Social Responsibility
NTU avails itself of its teaching and research accomplishments to establish advanced systems for administration, teaching, and collaboration to ensure sustainable social development. Listed as follows are the highlights of major accomplishments:
4.1 Administration
- NTU Office of Sustainability has been established in 2022.
- NTU became the first ever educational institute in Taiwan to commit to carbon reduction and examine greenhouse gas emissions against the ISO 14064-1: 2018 standard in 2020.
- NTU publishes periodically each year the Social Responsibility and Sustainability Report, a compilation of accomplishments as regards university administration, pedagogical progress, technological R&D, social commitment, and SDGs fulfillment.
4.2 Teaching
- Sustainability-themed courses have been continuously offered for students to enrich their knowledge about sustainability.
4.3 Collaboration
- NTU has forged an alliance with nationwide universities, initiating in 2022 the University Alliance for Sustainable Governance in Taiwan.
- NTU has signed in pursuit of SDGs the Memorandum of Understanding with a number of enterprises to share information on and experience in sustainable governance in higher education.