Higher Education SPROUT Project

I. Fulfillment of teaching innovation and improvement of teaching quality

1. A school affairs survey mechanism is established, which involves the establishment of a dedicated school affairs task force and an interorganizational task force, the implementation of school affairs survey and analysis, and the continual follow-up of effectiveness and outcomes.
2. Faculty members are encouraged to engage in teaching practice research projects, and social groups are organized to link up teachers’ research with the development of students’ learning capacity.
3. Campus livability is optimized, learning environment is innovated, and a cloud education center is established and continually updated.
4. Organization of essay competitions and photography competitions under the National Quemoy University HERO Wind Lion Award; production of online self-learning materials for the Chinese language featuring the local culture of Kinmen; and development of four e-books that discuss cancer prevention and treatment, the metabolic syndrome, dementia prevention and treatment, and safe medication.
5. Promotion of sustainable development with island characteristics by offering courses discussing island geography, culture, and developmental characteristics.

II. Development of school specialties

1. Cross-domain courses are set up as the school’s specialties, and workshops, experiential events, and featured speeches that involve the integration of six major academic disciplines are also organized.
2. Efforts are made to promote strategic alliance in line with the New Southbound Policy, establish sister school partnerships, and organize learning companion plans.
3. Development of food processing technologies and provision of technical support for local specialty food industries to facilitate the preservation and research of cultural heritages.
4. A research center for the intelligent UAV industry, a hybrid wind and solar electric system, and an application program for the monitoring of power consumption have been established. The development of cross-domain application programs for patient education and industry–academy cooperation has also been completed.

III. Improvement of public access to higher education

1. Special quotas for enrollment are established to provide various channels for students to enroll in the school. From 2018 to 2022, the number of students who enrolled in the school through the admission-by-application procedure has increased from 17 to 139, with the total number of students admitted through this procedure reaching 292. The amount of registration fees waived for specific categories in the second stage of the admission-by-application procedure has increased from NT$18,688 to NT$98,560 between 2018 and 2022, with the total reaching nearly NT$200,000. By increasing the channels, programs, and quotas (100 under vision programs and 8 under special talent programs) for admission, the school ensures the equality of educational opportunity.
2. Five events themed on autonomous health and diet management were organized on holidays to promote adequate dietary intake and healthy diet and living habits. A total of 406 disadvantaged students participated in these activities in 2022.
3. Assistance has been provided to facilitate one-on-one health care counseling and psychological counseling. Throughout 2022, health care counseling, psychological counseling, career counseling, and group counseling were provided to 141, 156, 158, and 113 disadvantaged students, respectively.
4. A total of 5 career development workshops and 2 cultural affairs workshops were organized by the school’s Indigenous Learning Resource Center to promote traditional indigenous culture; 268 individuals attended the workshops. In addition, 6 indigenous handicraft lectures that attracted 90 participants were also organized.

IV. Fulfillment of social responsibility

1. Well-known authors Man-chuan Chang and John Hei were invited to give speech. An exhibition of master-class ink wash paintings was organized. More than 20,000 textbooks in Chinese and Western languages and a complete set of Siku Quanshu containing 1500 hardback books were acquired through donation appeals and 5 electronic library systems were purchased to enrich the school’s library.
2. Promotion of health improving activities for community-dwelling older adults and a One-Day-University-Student experiential event for Senior Citizens were organized and won wide acclaim in the county after media coverage by major newspapers including the China Times and the United Daily News.
3. Volunteer training courses were organized to train volunteers for social welfare organizations, community services, and environmental protection activities such as beach cleaning. The service has even extended to Chinese teaching in overseas communities.
4. STEAM education in junior high schools and elementary schools in the county has been promoted. Teachers from 20 elementary schools and 5 junior high schools, including information technology teachers, received training to improve their professional knowledge, facilitate their professional and personal development, and enable them to help students develop thinking and doing abilities.