Higher Education SPROUT Project

Achievements and Highlights in 2023

Aspect 1: "Advancing Teaching Innovation"

1. In the 2023 Global Views Magazine Taiwan's Best Universities Rankings, Tzu Chi University ranked 25th among general universities, 4th in medical disciplines, 14th among private universities, 4th in financial strength, 21st in industry-academia collaboration, 1st nationwide for industry-academia income per faculty, 5th in student funding, and 20th in the ratio of international students. For 2024, the university improved to 24th among general universities and 2nd among small universities (with fewer than 5,000 students).


2. The Sky Academy has been honored with the National Open Education Excellence Course Award for four consecutive years. Additionally, the Humanities and Positive Education course received the MOOC Course Group Outstanding Award in 2023.


3. Faculty members are actively involved in Teaching Practice Research, with five proposals successfully securing funding from the Ministry of Education's Teaching Practice Research Projects in 2023. Additionally, four faculty members were recognized for excellence in 2022.


4. In 2023, students achieved remarkable success in professional certification examinations, surpassing national averages: Social Worker Certification: Our students attained a pass rate of 65.63%, significantly higher than the national average of 23.57%. Medical Laboratory Technician Certification: Our students achieved a pass rate of 75%, compared to the national average of 28.61%.


5. The Ministry of Education awarded the university a "Best Performance" rating for its student counseling services in the 111th academic year.


6. The project "Nursing Advocates in the Post-Pandemic Era: Nursing Informatics Taking the Lead" was funded in 2023 by the Youth Development Agency's Career Advancement Program under the Ministry of Education.


7. TCU received funding for the project “Bilingual Education for Students in College (BEST)” from the Ministry of Education in 2023, providing additional resources to enhance bilingual education.


8. The Department of Biomedical Science and Engineering received funding from the Ministry of Education for the 2nd Phase (2023–2027) of the Experimental and Constructive Project for New Engineering Education Methods.


9. The Short-Term Specialized Training Program under the African Elite Talent Development Initiative received funding from the Ministry of Education in 2023.


10. The educational philosophy of "Silent Mentors" from Tzu Chi University was featured in the 2023 edition of Issues in Science and Technology in the United States.


11. The course Humanities and Positive Education from the Institute of Education received the MOOC Course Group Outstanding Award in 2023.

12. The Teacher Education Center successfully passed the self-evaluation for teacher education program accreditation.

13.Encourage and support students to participate in off-campus or external competitions,  including:

• Three sixth-year medical students won first place in the 2023 Second National Medical Student High-Fidelity Simulation Competition.


• Multiple awards at the 2023 Evidence-Based Medicine Competition.


• Best Practical Award in the 2023 National College Industry-Academia Innovation Practical Competition.


• Gold and silver awards in various national competitions, including AI, creative design, and marketing.


• Recognition in short film and radio broadcasting competitions for excellence and creativity.


• Numerous accolades for interdisciplinary and team projects in local and national competitions.

Aspect 2: "Fulfilling Social Responsibility"

1. TCU received funding for the Smart and Low-Carbon Campus Project from the Ministry of Education, making it one of only three universities selected nationwide.


2. TCU participated in energy conservation initiatives and was awarded an Energy-Saving Label by the Hualien County Government.


3. Approved for competitive funding under the Digital Companion Program for Learning by the Ministry of Education.


4. TCU successfully secured approval for all proposals submitted to the Ministry of Education's Third Phase (2023–2024) University Social Responsibility (USR) Practice Program, receiving a total funding of NT$10.6 million.

Aspect 3: "Linking Industry and Academia"

1. In the 2023 "Taiwan Best University Rankings" by Global Views Magazine, TCU ranked 1st among private universities for average industry-academia income per faculty member.


2. Professors Sun De-Shan and Zhang Xin-Hou were honored with the Future Technology Award by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) in 2023.


3. The Professor of Department of Nursing, Luo Shu-Fen won the 2023 IIP International Outstanding Inventor Award for Invention Contribution.


4. Ten professors were recognized among the Top 2% of Scientists Worldwide (2022–2023) by Stanford University, including three distinguished alumni who have achieved excellence in both medicine and research.


5. Six research teams were honored with the 20th National Innovation Award across various categories, including Clinical Innovation and Academic-Industry Innovation.


6. Collaboration with Hualien Agricultural Improvement Station resulted in the commercialization of fermented bitter melon beverages.


7. A multidisciplinary team received Gold Standard Certification for the Small Farmers’ Carbon Farming Project in Taiwan, the first agricultural carbon rights project in Taiwan and globally recognized as a small-farmers-integrated carbon credit initiative.