Higher Education SPROUT Project

Achievements of the Higher Education Sprout (Master) Project in 2022

National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU) is Taiwan’s foremost university in the fields of maritime and ocean-related studies. Its maritime field combines the public, private, academic, and institutional sectors and has become an important institution for the cultivation of marine professionals in Taiwan. Through the Ministry of Education’s Higher Education Sprout Project, the university has continued to push for advancement in four major aspects: implementing teaching innovation, developing university features, universalizing higher education, and fulfilling social responsibilities.

1. Implementing Teaching Innovation

Summary

In order to achieve our goal of student-centered education, we continually strive to improve our teaching quality and reform our curriculum. The measures we have implemented include the development of a student-centered curriculum design and encouraging the use of intelligent devices and mobile technologies and their real-time interactions in teaching. These measures provide digital learning, enhance students’ competencies in programming and artificial intelligence, cultivate logical thinking and core competencies in information technology, strengthen students’ narrative competence in Chinese and English, encourage interdisciplinary learning, guide students to apply their professional knowledge in practical industry learning, and promote educational support for instructors.

Results

•  Enhanced learning efficacy:

Teaching aspect: The use of cloud-based learning platforms in teaching activities saw a four-fold increase in 2022 compared with 2018. Forty-three instructors adopted mobile devices during teaching, a three-fold increase from 2018, and 2,082 students attended these classes, projecting a 2.78-fold increase.

1. ) Institution aspect: Since opening massive open online courses (MOOCs) to students in 2018, by 2022 the university has registered 804 students across 17 subject courses. The digital learning program for financially and culturally disadvantaged students received 2,771 applications between 2018 and 2022, with a course completion rate of 83.76%. The number of trainee teachers who have participated in the Exploration and Practice-Oriented Teaching Program accounts for 95% of all NTOU trainee teachers.


2. ) Learning aspect: Students who attended tutorial classes in the 2022 Spring semester had a course pass rate of 62.4%, an increase of 10% from 2018. Statistical analysis showed a positive correlation between tutorial class participation and classroom performance.

• Strengthening professional practices:

1. ) Course aspect: The number of participants in the University Summer Internship Program saw a 2.5-times increase in student participation and a 2.4-times increase in instructor participation in 2022 compared with 2018. A “Clearance Practice” course was established in conjunction with corporate organizations to encourage students to take part in licensing exams, which had a pass rate of 100%.


2. ) Industry and academic aspect: NTOU established industry-academia cooperation mechanisms. To cultivate high-caliber aquafarming professionals, the university collaborated with Topco Scientific Co., Ltd. to launch the “Smart Aquafarming Technology Development and R&D Talent Cultivation” program. To promote the development of high-level professional talents in the marine, ship, and offshore wind energy industries and increase job opportunities for students, a memorandum of understanding was signed with W&H Ship Management and Consulting Co. on the provision of scholarships and internship opportunities to NTOU students.

• Cultivating core competencies: The first phase of the project was implemented to foster (1) digital capability by introducing required courses, Basic Programming and Introduction to Artificial Intelligence; (2) interdisciplinary capability by launching the Theme-Based Course Clusters Pilot Project (33-course clusters were created between 2018 and 2022, approximately 7,776 students participated, and a contest was held to review the achievements); (3) global mobility by offering EMI courses (number of courses increased 2.6 times in the academic year 2021 compared with 2018) and prizes for English language learning; and (4) narrative competence by promoting online Chinese writing exercises for first-year students (each student wrote two essays every semester and 81% of first-year students had used the English writing platform).

• Improving instructors’ teaching innovation and practical experience:

1. ) Instructor support: Regulations for Faculty Promotion, Teaching Service Performance Evaluation Guidelines for Faculty Promotion, and Basic Thresholds for Faculty Promotion and Teaching Service Performance Evaluation Data Sheet were revised to include a new scoring item (teaching innovation and awards). Guidelines for the Recruitment and Retention of Special Outstanding Talents were amended to include particulars about faculty participation in teaching practice research or USR projects and flexible salary and reward requirements.


2. ) Teaching quality: The number of classes that participated in the Classroom Observation System in 2022 increased by 7.5 times compared with 2018, and the number of participating instructors also increased by 6.9 times. Incentives were awarded for the multi-stage development of digital learning materials—149 theme-based digital materials have been developed between 2019 and 2022, which were published and shared on NTOU’s O Channel. The Ministry of Education Teaching Practice Research Program received 57 applications in the 2023 academic year, a 3.8-times increase compared with 2018 (15 applications).

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2. Developing University Features

Summary

NTOU continues to further the development of ocean science in the public, private, academic, and institutional sectors, including research and developing marine-themed research, pushing distinct university ocean science education and learning materials, promoting national ocean awareness, fostering student ocean literacy, cultivating student watersports clubs, and aligning with international marine industries. NTOU is committed to establishing international education and research partnerships and strives toward its vision of becoming one of the top universities in the world for teaching excellence and research in the fields of maritime and ocean-related studies.

Results

• Cultivating marine professionals: With 35 marine-related departments, NTOU is the most complete academic institution in the fields of maritime and ocean-related studies. The university continues to organize the university-level required freshmen course “Introduction to Ocean Sciences”, has published 16 maritime featured books, and has developed industrial collaboration programs aimed at cultivating professionals for the key industries of Taiwan, such as offshore wind farms.


• Promoting general ocean science education: NTOU has organized a nationwide Ocean Education Week and a series of lectures on Exploring and Developing a Career in the Maritime Field to enrich its ocean education network platform (the website registered 3.28 million clicks at the end of August 2022) and encourage citizens to understand how our everyday life affects ocean life. The university also hosted international ocean seminars and organized 77 sessions of the sea kayaking and stand-up paddle (SUP) experience camp, which were attended by roughly 3,000 people. In the 2019 Keelung Regatta and Ryukyu Regatta, NTOU was the Group A winner and delivered an exceptional performance.


• Establishing international education and research partnerships: NTOU has signed international education and research collaboration agreement with 109 universities and organizations across the world, and also founded the Artificial Intelligence Research Center. The Center of Excellence for Ocean Engineering was upgraded to a university-level center specializing in ocean-related topics and fields, including global climate change, marine sustainability, maritime affairs, marine biotechnology and food safety, marine engineering, green energy technology, programming language, and 5G and AI application in ocean-related issues, among other global concerns.

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3. Universalizing Higher Education

Summary

NTOU continues to lend its assistance and influence to universalize higher education, including the continued perfection of its assistive system for financially and culturally disadvantaged students. The university’s efforts include the establishment of the Indigenous Students Resource Center, reducing the student-faculty ratio, protecting faculty rights, ensuring transparency in university management, clearly establishing a system for student representation in university meetings, and developing lifelong learning channels.

Results

• Effective guidance: NTOU has raised funds for the Bursary for Disadvantaged Students to Study with Peace of Mind. In 2018–2022, bursaries totaling NT$13.79 million were raised for financially and culturally disadvantaged students. In 2018–2022, a total of NT$30,775,200 in bursaries were granted to 1,554 students for an average of NT$19,800 per student. According to a questionnaire survey, 90.8% of students who received funding used the money toward daily expenditures and 65.5% to acquire new skills or to improve language proficiency. In regards to learning programs, the MOOC digital learning program received positive evaluations from students, with 66% of students remarking that they simultaneously reduced their part-time work hours and acquired new knowledge. In the academic year 2022, the university enrolled 119 indigenous students, 21% more than that in 2019.


• Decrease in the student-faculty ratio: The ratio of daytime program students to faculty was 17.22; the ratio of graduate students to faculty was 4.2; and the ratio of NTOU students to faculty was 19.43.


• Transparency in university management: In addition to the disclosure of university operations online, we have combined teaching quality assurance with institutional research and established a system that allows for student participation in university affairs.

https://reurl.cc/6L3ALd

4. Fulfilling Social Responsibilities

Summary

NTOU has established and continues to improve its faculty reward system, which encourages instructors to incorporate on-site learning in the planning of course designs in order to develop cultural sustainability and ecological restoration. The university also continues to establish collaborative partnerships with international universities and appropriated Japan’s placemaking experiences and its corresponding translation mechanism. By facilitating the exchange of education and research resources, NTOU furthers local development and fulfills its responsibility of marine education provision.

Results

• Penetrating the teaching practice arena: Instructors involved in USR projects are rewarded with flexible pay and a reduction in teaching hours. The number of instructors on flexible pay and the amount of flexible pay have increased annually, with the number of instructors increasing by 53.3% and total payment by 663% in 2022 compared with 2019. In the academic years 2019–2022, instructors received a reduction of 112 teaching hours.


• Strengthening the sharing of education and research resources: NTOU contributed marine biological resources to the northern coast of Taiwan, increasing local catch by 1.5–2 times. The university organized a transnational (6 nations) workshop for students to gain and share placemaking experiences; offered an ocean literacy course, which saw participation by 360 senior high school students; and hosted 70 sessions of competency improvement seminar for a community of university faculty and senior high school teachers, which were attended by 2,800 participants. The university also organized a mentor program for disadvantaged senior high school students, which was participated by 20 students.

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Highlights of the Higher Education Sprout (Master) Project in 2022

1. Teaching Innovation

(1) Elevating students’ learning effectiveness

An outcome-oriented curriculum planning program

Exploratory and practice-oriented courses

The courses aim to develop the narrative competencies of students in the teacher education program through the approaches of learning by doing and hands-on participation. The number of students in the teacher education program that participated in the courses grew from 22 in 2018 to 115 in 2022, accounting for 95% of all NTOU trainee teachers. A total of 136 practical works and 107 special topic reports were produced in 2022.

Promoting capstone courses

Since 2018, NTOU has taken a college-oriented approach to promote capstone courses. In 2022, 40 subject courses were established by 19 departments, the number of participating students was 1,626, and a special-topic contest was held to showcase the students’ learning outcomes. In addition, 33 instructors organized 7 thematic course groups to assess students through capstone project competitions, which were participated by a total of 1,584 students.

Using contests to incentivize professional discipline application

NTOU organized contests to build teamwork, enhance learning motivation, and promote professional development. In 2022, at least 139 students won awards in off-campus contests. In particular, NTOU ranked fourth place in the 2020 International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC). A team of NTOU students won the Gold Award at the Ministry of Education Intelligent SoC Innovative Project Contest Award. In the AIGO Problem Solving Competition organized by the Ministry of Digital Affairs in 2022, NTOU emerged victorious from among 229 other universities nationwide, receiving the Award of Excellence and a prize money of NT$300,000!

(2) Improving students’ professional practice

Program for enhancing students’ occupational preparedness

Introductory Industry-Academia Courses and Industry-Academia Bridging Courses

NTOU has established department-level marine courses for freshmen to provide students with a learning roadmap. The number of academic departments established accounted for approximately 76% of all departments of NTOU. From sophomore to senior years, the university has arranged lectures and field trips and organized business seminars on topics such as offshore wind farms, shipping, and marine propulsion practices.

Alumni lectures and experience sharing

Since the Alumni Service Center began to hold the general education course “Inheritance & Innovation—A Seminar by Kwang-Hsiang Wang” in 2019, in four years the course has been partaken by a total of 430 students. The course invites top alumni leaders to share their education and entrepreneurial experiences. A panel discussion was also organized for attendees to meet in person and exchange information to broaden their horizons and increase their opportunities in the job market.

Corporate organizations and universities jointly design courses for improving professional and certification capabilities

NTOU collaborated with the Keelung Customs Office of the Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance to offer the “Clearance Practice” course centered on practical customs issues, which features lectures by industry practitioners, field trips, and licensing examination checks and encourages students to take licensing exams. For example, the Dedicated Personnel for the Independent Management of Bonded Warehouses, Duty-Free Shops, and Logistic Centers licensing exam was taken by 83 students, who all qualified and received certification for a 100% pass rate; and the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Supply Chain Security licensing exam was taken by 82 students, who all received certification for a 100% pass rate. Acquiring these licenses helps NTOU students enhance their competitiveness in the workplace.

(3) Cultivating students’ key capabilities

Student innovation, entrepreneurship, and creativity program

Promoting creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship programs

The programs aim to help students lay foundations, develop core competencies, and construct curriculum maps for their fields of study. Students earn 4 credits for foundation courses, 8 credits for 3 core curriculum courses, and 8 credits for professional courses. Between 2018 and 2022, a total of 159 courses were established, which were taken by a total of 7,079 students. Specialized teaching assistants were also assigned to keep track of students’ learning statuses.

Offering intensive summer courses

The courses are aimed at cultivating interdisciplinary professionals for the biomedical, new agricultural innovation and entrepreneurship, and precision health industries, and focus on the fields of marine biotechnology, food innovation, diversified health, and precision agriculture. In 2021–2022, forty-six summer courses were offered that were taken by 3,073 students.

Organizing lecturer entrepreneurship training courses

During 2018-2022, 77 maker training workshops were organized in which lecturers were invited to share their knowledge and experiences in entrepreneurship. Roughly 1,366 people attended the workshops.

Building a team of student entrepreneurs

From 2018 to 2022, NTOU has helped establish 44 teams of student entrepreneurs, such as KINGO Trading, Travel Waste, Happy Travel app, Mi Breakfast, Plenty of Fish Aquarium, Somersault, Fresh Dog Food, Eco-friendly Tableware Rentals, Search and Find, FRESH!, Circle, Taste Hunter, D&A, Research chain, etc. Four of the teams have registered their business, achieving the goal of helping student entrepreneurs materialize their innovative ideas and entrepreneurial visions.

A mechanism of using contests to encourage entrepreneurial teams

Student entrepreneurial teams, Rose Angel Shrimp Salt, DY AQUA, A Fry’s Philosophy, Lanma 1982, F0rest, and See Fish, joined the 2022 From Innovation to Entrepreneurs-Spinoff-Operation-Startup (SOS-IPO) platform. Each team received a NT$100,000 grant for their project. NTOU ranked second nationwide in terms of the number of students that received the grant. The PRAWNtech Underwater Robot Vacuum received a subsidy of NT$500,000 from the first phase of the 2022 Ministry of Education U-start innovation and entrepreneurship project and also enrolled in a 6-month entrepreneurial training program that aimed to help team members master innovative technologies, materialize creative ideas, and verify their entrepreneurial goals. The team Smart Fish was also invited to the Intel AI Global Impact Festival and demonstrated outstanding performance at the event.

(4) Promoting innovative training

Faculty competency and interdisciplinary development program

Strengthening the flying eagle program

With the support of senior faculty members, this two-stage program facilitates the early development of new instructors in the areas of teaching, research, service, and counseling. Between 2018 and 2022, 63 groups of instructors (146 individuals) participated in the first phase of the program; in addition, the amendment to the Regulations for Faculty Promotion stipulated that all faculty employed as of the first semester of the academic year 2021 are required to participate in the first phase of the program. Beginning in 2020, the teaching improvement plan for the second phase of the program was launched to allow instructors who completed the first phase to apply for grants to fund a course of their choice. Six instructors underwent the second phase of the program during 2020–2022 in hopes of adapting to their teaching careers as soon as possible.

Producing teaching demonstration videos

In 2019, NTOU began making 3–10-minute videos, demonstrating teaching skills and practices that involve using innovative ideas, tools, and methods. The videos are provided as a reference for all faculty members. A series of 10 videos, called The Ideals and Types of Educational Research, have been produced as of 2022, and are made available on the Teacher Plus website (https://www.o-channel.org/teacherplus), providing a peer learning perspective to promote the diversified development of various teaching methods.

Promoting faculty community and seminars on innovation in teaching to improve the professionalism of faculty members

NTOU has established faculty development communities across four major dimensions: Interdisciplinary Issues, Teaching Practice and Research, Professionalism across Universities, and Marine Education, which feature the sharing of experiences between faculty members with an aim to improve the quality of collaboration. The total number of faculty communities in 2022 was 21, 2.1 times that of 2018. The university has organized 22 sessions of training that meet the needs of faculty members and integrate physical and digital learning models, which greatly increased faculty participation rate. The participation rate in 2022 was 8 times that of 2018.

(5) Increasing instructors’ practical experience

Teaching practice research program

Social practice courses

Instructors are encouraged to address social issues in their teaching practices. In 2022, instructors underwent training exercises in Keelung Badouzi, Heping Dao, Northeast Coast, and Matsu Islands to probe into and help address local problems. For example, the instructors used agricultural wastes in Yilan to develop four types of circular economy products, including handmade rice soap and shampoo bars. In order to promote cultural sustainability and develop professional talents in community-based education, the university has also developed teaching programs, including Beach-Seine Scientists, the Adventures of Marine Debris, and Choice of Marine Resources.

University measures for supporting teaching practice research

These measures are established to encourage instructors to actively participate in teaching practice research.

Institutional aspect

Following the president’s public commendation on projects approved by the Ministry of Education, the university has specified bonus point measures, such as allocating monetary rewards separately for distinguished projects or including faculty evaluation in evaluation exemption and faculty promotion measures, and adopted a flexible pay mechanism.

Competency enhancement aspect

NTOU has implemented the Teaching Practice Research Pilot Development Program and formed faculty communities for the Teaching Practice Research Program. In 2022, 28 instructors participated in the project, 5 faculty communities were formed, and lectures and 3-day intensive courses were organized to help NTOU instructors write proposals for teaching practice research projects.

Guidance aspect

NTOU motivated instructors to participate in teaching practice research by organizing the following activities: the creation of faculty guidance handbooks, key points for submissions, and experience sharing activities (5 sessions); Beginners Tribe (2 sessions); one-on-one consultations with experts (5 sessions); instructors seek out experts for professional consultation (7 sessions); use of online inquiry platform. For the academic year 2023, 57 applications were received for the Ministry of Education Teaching Practice Research Program—a 3.8-times increase compared with 2018 (15 applications), demonstrating the effectiveness of NTOU’s multifaceted supporting measures.

2. Features of the University

(1) Cultivating marine professionals

Developing industrial collaboration programs

Developing industry-academia-research collaboration projects to enhance research value

NTOU provides high-quality learning and research environments and supports national policies that encourage and assist instructors who are interested in entrepreneurial ventures to commercialize technology and actively adopt technology in industries. The university also participates in major competitions organized by various ministries. For example, a technological product developed by Professor Ming-Wei Lu from the Department of Aquaculture won the 18^th National Innovation Award and 2022 Taipei Biotech Award; and the product of a new startup company founded by Distinguished Professor Hsin-Yiu Chou from the Department of Aquaculture and Professor Li-Li Chen from the Institute of Marine Biology ranked 3^rd in the Top 10 Products at the 2022 Food Taipei exhibition. The university also collaborates with industrial, academic, and research sectors to conduct research that meets industry needs. For example, Professor Jung-Hua Wang from the Department of Electrical Engineering won the International Smart Healthcare Summit Excellence Award; Associate Professor William Hsu from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering won the 2022 Future Tech Award; and Professor Chau-Chang Chou from the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering won a gold medal at the 2022 Taiwan Innotech Expo Invention Award. Moreover, Associate Professor Wen-Tung Chang from the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering won a bronze medal at the 2022 Taiwan Innotech Expo Invention Award for his Power Generation Shock Absorber Technology, and also the Technology Special Award from Hon Hai Precision.

(2) Becoming a marine education think tank

Building a marine education database

Enriching the marine education network platform

Taiwan Marine Education Center at NTOU is a crucial platform that integrates Taiwan’s marine education-related resources in Taiwan, consolidates databases, internationalizes network platforms, and promotes marine education activities and knowledge. The university has continued to adjust website architecture, strengthen information classification, and update website resources, among other actions, to enrich and optimize the website and platform of the Taiwan Marine Education Center. The website registered 3.28 million clicks at the end of August 2022, and the Taiwan Ocean Education Center E-Newsletter has also been published since June 2018 (an issue is released every 2 months; the 26^th issue was published in August 2022).

Building a long-term think tank for marine education

 

NTOU conducts analysis on trends in the cultivation and development of marine professionals in Taiwan based on the continuous investigation of the supply and demand of marine talents in Taiwan and building a collection of marine education annual statistics reports. Additionally, a survey for investigating the marine literacy of elementary and junior high schools was established. The survey is administered once every three years to collect long-term data on changes in the marine literacy of 12-year basic education students. “Green Level/Beginner Level” and “Blue Level/Advanced Level” marine educator training courses, as well as “Marine Educator/Return Education” training courses (one session each for Green Level/Beginner and Blue Level/Advanced) were also organized.

(3) International education and research partnerships

Enriching national-grade marine research equipment

Enriching national-grade key marine research facilities to maintain the core marine technology teaching R&D platform that is used nationwide

The Shared Core Instrument Room is open 24/7, accessible free of charge, and used by more than 10,000 people each year. The R/V New Ocean Researcher 1 has supported the marine expeditions of national academic and research organizations for more than 150 days each year. The only seawater aquaculture learning site in Taiwan, the Aquatic Animal Center provides internship opportunities to over 20,000 students each year. The Aquatic Biological Research and Conservation Center assists with the promotion of fish/shrimp/shellfish production and marine biology conservation.The Center of Excellence for Ocean Engineering was upgraded to a university-level center in 2020, becoming the largest center in Asia and the 5^th largest center in the world involved in coastal defense or various types of ocean engineering simulations and testing. The Yanping Underwater Technology Research Center assists with high-precision testing of submarines, propellers, and torpedoes. The Vibration Noise Engineering Research Center has delivered results in the areas of high-performing propulsion system development and vibration noise prevention technology. By expanding and investing in marine research facilities and industry-academia learning bases, the center develops cutting-edge marine science research to foster top-tier marine professionals. The General Experimental Research Center for Ocean Engineering promotes the experimentation and development of ocean, harbor, and coastal environment protection and engineering facilities, cultivates top-class marine technologists, and integrates marine-related industries across various disciplines. The Intelligent Maritime Research Center was established in 2021 to improve the independent research and development capacity of the university in the field of shipping technology, and collaborations were held with corporate organizations to enhance the university’s innovation capacity.

3. Universality

(1) Perfecting enrollment assistance mechanisms

Enrolling economically and culturally disadvantaged students

Holding university-wide department meetings on disadvantaged student enrollment

Department meetings are held to facilitate the exchange of opinions and views of various departments concerning enrollment opportunities for disadvantaged students and to gain a consensus on the trial work and promotions involved in the enrollment and admission of disadvantaged students.

Holding seminars to promote disadvantaged student enrollment

In 2022, NTOU organized the following events to promote the enrollment of indigenous students: off-campus recruitment lectures held by seed teachers (33 sessions), senior high school and county/city government higher education exhibitions (44 sessions), and campus tours for senior high school teachers and students (8 sessions), with a total of 547 participants. Faculty members from each department visited various senior high schools to promote the university’s Natural Jade Scholarship program, which offers a range of bursaries and financial aid. In the academic year 2022, the university enrolled an additional 129 indigenous students through the Star Admissions Program and individual application channel, showing a 26% increase from the academic year 2019 (95 students).

Certification and internship guidance for better employability and professionalism

NTOU has established Regulations for Funding Students’ General and Professional Certifications to cover the cost of certifications for disadvantaged students. Professional certifications covered in the scope of these regulations include operation-level Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) training, IELTS certificates, license for driving a small powerboat, master of ceremonies, and Level B technician for baking food, among others. Between 2018 and 2022, a total of 143 students received funding. The university has also set up the Natural Jade Internship Grant to encourage students to participate in internship programs by helping to alleviate their financial burdens during the internship period; 190 students participated between 2018 and 2022.

Using learning in lieu of the study-and-work mechanism to focus on study and take care of daily living needs

In 2018–2022, a total of NT$30,775,200 in bursaries were granted to 1,554 students, with each student receiving on average NT$19,800 in funding. According to a questionnaire survey, 90.8% of students who received bursaries used the money toward daily expenditures, and 65.5% to acquire new skills or improve language proficiency. In regards to learning programs, the MOOC digital learning program and DIY courses received positive evaluations from students, with 66% of students commenting that they simultaneously reduced their part-time work hours and acquired new knowledge.

Expanding enrollment opportunities for indigenous students

The university enrolled 94, 105, 115, and 119 indigenous students in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively.

Increasing admission seats for indigenous students via the Star Admissions Program and individual application

Among the total of 994 students approved by the Ministry of Education for the academic year 2018, 74 were indigenous (7.44%). For the academic year 2022, 129 of the total 1,110 approved students were indigenous (11.62%), showing a 4.18% increase and indicating the effectiveness of the university’s promotional and enrollment efforts.

Organizing indigenous cultural activities and lectures

In 2022, NTOU organized activities, courses, and exhibitions to introduce the indigenous culture to students, including the Indigenous Cultural Festival and A Day of Wearing Indigenous Tribal Clothes (1 session), indigenous craftwork training course (8 sessions), and exhibitions on traditional indigenous cuisines, the clothing of 16 indigenous tribes, and clothe paper artworks.

Providing indigenous student aid and TOEIC courses

In 2018–2022, the amount of grants offered to indigenous people who served as administrative assistants totaled NT$6,930,914, NT$198,639 more than in 2019. TOEIC courses were also offered from March to December to help indigenous students improve their English language skills.

Promoting the placemaking-at-home program for indigenous students

NTOU collaborated with universities in Northern Taiwan to organize field trips to indigenous tribes and return-home services, as well as indigenous root-finding and tribal service-learning workshops, consensus camps for new indigenous students, and a series of indigenous cultural and art lectures. A total of 1,053 people participated in the 15 sessions organized in 2022, which was a 3.75-times increase from the 4 sessions in 2019.

(2) Transparency in university management

University Affairs Research and Development Project

Developing university affairs research and applying analysis results to empower university decisions

NTOU monitored the pre-study and study performance of students who were admitted through different channels and found that students enrolled through the Star Admissions Program outperformed students who were enrolled through other admission channels. Therefore, the university adjusted the admission seats for the Star Admissions Program accordingly. Students who were enrolled through special selection channels were found to have performed poorly in some subject areas. Thus, for such students, the university adopted positive reinforcement measures, improved student enrollment methods according to analysis results, and used the results of university affairs research to revise and adjust teaching patterns and approaches.

Improving the professionalism in student admissions by integrating senior high school learning profiles

By linking senior high school learning profiles to NTOU’s faculty affairs database, the university developed learning indicators for senior high school students (e.g., performance in various senior high school subjects, percentage class ranking after enrollment into NTOU) to provide a reference for the application review and evaluation committees of departments. By integrating the senior high school learning profiles with the annual learning profiles of NTOU students, the university established rules for ensuring professionalism in student admissions. In the future, it is hoped that professionalism in student admissions can be further improved so as to admit students that best fit the needs and expertise of departments.

4. Social Responsibility

(1) Cultural sustainability

Forging stronger industry-academia ties

Working with media agencies to produce a documentary on the marine ecosystem and pass on the visions of ocean sustainability

EBC News’ A Focus on the World channel and NTOU collaborated on a USR project featuring the documentary The Guardian of Formosa: The Ocean Series. Filmed using a drone and using large calligraphy writing to present the opening sequence, the documentary won the Golden Bell Award for Best Natural Science Documentary Show in 2021 for promoting the visions of the Satoyama and Satoumi Initiatives while also communicating the values of ecological conservation and ocean sustainability.

(2) Promoting ecological restoration and conservation

Intercollegiate transnational collaboration

Sharing practices through intercollegiate exchange

Through the International Master’s Program in International Studies (IMPIS) of National Chengchi University (NCCU), NTOU organized a transnational (6 nations) student workshop where students gave brief presentations in English of their placemaking experiences in Japan and Taiwan. NTOU and the USR Team of the University System of Taipei jointly organize a conference each year to publish the research achievements of all four universities and interact with other universities. The university has cooperated with the National Defense Medical Center for three consecutive years, during which 155 students obtained basic trauma life support certification to facilitate intercollegiate collaborations in health care.

Adopting Japan’s placemaking model

NTOU cooperated with Tateyama City Hall, Takahata Town Hall, Toyu Corporate Japan, and Sendai City Industrial Promotion Organization to learn from Japan’s placemaking experience. Seven empowerment workshops were held via video conferencing, allowing the university to engage in international training and experience sharing as part of the transnational co-learning process.

Joining TJ Alliance to forge transnational ties

NTOU joined the Taiwan–Japan Alliance of Local Revitalization and Social Practice, attending a total of 12 TJ Alliance-organized meetings and 6 international conferences or workshops in order to foster local connections between Taiwan and Japan and take part in international training and experience sharing.

(3) Cultivating local marine education

Diversified marine literacy courses

Supporting local education institutions and organizing diverse marine literacy courses

Diverse marine literacy courses were established in collaboration with Keelung Senior High School, Keelung Municipal Nuannuan Senior High School, and New Taipei City Xiufeng High School which gave senior high school students the opportunity to work at NTOU’s laboratories. A total of 360 students attended classes on maritime humanities technology, marine technology, and ocean exploration. During the winter and summer holidays, ocean science camps and elite leadership training camps were organized to improve the ocean literacy of senior high and vocational school students and raise their awareness of marine conservation. A total of 7 camps were held, which were participated by 510 senior high and vocational school students.

Establishing online courses for senior high schools

NTOU collaborated with faculty members of the University System of Taipei to develop the APCS Essentials MOOCs. The courses were launched on the ewant open education platform, and approximately 850 students took the courses. Two other courses, Writing Abstracts in English and Understand the Green Gold of the 21^st Century – Algae, were also offered on ewant as independent learning courses for senior high school students.