The Higher Education Sprout Project for Year 114 sets out four major goals: cultivating cross-disciplinary and internationally competent professionals, advancing health sustainability and social care, promoting technology transfer and industrial innovation, and realizing educational equity and information transparency. Focusing on five key competencies—cross-disciplinary integration, self-directed learning, problem solving, information technology with humanistic concern, and global mobility—the university continues to nurture healthcare professionals with strong medical humanities, civic literacy, and a commitment to professional service. The overall highlights can be summarized under four dimensions as follows:
Dimension 1: Teaching Innovation and Refinement
(1) Cross-disciplinary learning and integration of smart technologies into teaching
In 2025, a total of 111 students completed cross-disciplinary programs and obtained 158 professional certificates. The numbers of double majors and inter-university course enrollments increased significantly compared with the previous year, demonstrating the effectiveness of cross-disciplinary learning. Course design actively incorporates digital technologies such as AI, VR/AR, and 3D printing. For example, the “Chemical Hazard General Education VR System” has accumulated over 100,000 views, with 22,000 learners receiving certified learning hours. Digital 3D-printed dental teaching materials received the Gold Award at the 2025 IIIC International Innovation and Invention Competition. The number of approved MOOCs increased from 20 to 68, and the number of approved undergraduate research projects rose from 71 to 83, indicating simultaneous growth in students’ self-directed learning and research capacity.
(2) Deepening medical humanities and ethical literacy
A university-level Center for Medical Humanities was established to coordinate strategies for medical education and humanities development. The National Medical Humanities Competition expanded from 54 submissions by 3 universities to 68 submissions by 7 universities. Together with a spiral-staircase-themed essay competition and a medical humanities reading reflection writing contest, nearly 300 pieces were submitted in total. A series of medical humanities and mental health workshops, cross-college humanities courses, and lectures attracted over 400 participants, with satisfaction rates above 90%, systematically cultivating students’ capacity for life care, narrative competence, and ethical reflection.
(3) Enhancing faculty capacity and improving teaching quality
Digital teaching workshops, including AI virtual human teaching design, were organized to support faculty development. A total of 27 cross-departmental seed teachers were trained, producing 33 AI virtual human lesson plans. There were 18 faculty professional learning communities involving 216 teachers, representing nearly 30% growth over the previous year. In Academic Year 114, 12 projects were approved under the Ministry of Education’s Teaching Practice Research Program, and the university’s MOOCs received the “2025 Taiwan Open Education Excellence Award,” demonstrating steady achievements in teaching innovation and faculty professional development.
Dimension 2: Fulfilling Social Responsibility
(1) Rooting a resilient campus and building healthy communities for mutual benefit
Centered on three main themes—“Healthy Aging × Practical Skills,” “Resilient Campus × Social Good,” and “Sustainable Agri-Food × All-Age Nutrition”—the university has deepened its engagement with local communities. Over two years, community service sites increased from about 11 to 14, with more than 60 activities and over 3,000 participants. Activities covered maintenance of functional ability in older adults, intergenerational learning between youth and seniors, rental housing safety and disaster preparedness education, as well as food and agriculture education and hands-on healthy cooking. Through long-term presence at community bases and multiple health promotion courses, the university has built a cross-generational, sustainable local health network.
(2) Social engagement that combines support for disadvantaged groups and international outreach
Through themes such as “Cross-Disciplinary Health Protection × Continuous Care,” “Cross-Professional Empowerment × Enhancing Self-Care Capacity,” and “Active Rehabilitation × Improving Quality of Life,” the university integrates multiple departments in the health sciences to provide integrated screening, health education, and rehabilitation services for older adults, children with disabilities, and disadvantaged workers. Both the number of activities and service sites have multiplied compared with the previous year. At the same time, medical volunteer services and clinical training have been promoted in New Southbound countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia. Combined with advocacy on migrant worker issues at the ASEAN Plaza and international social work courses, these efforts cultivate students’ global citizenship and sense of public engagement.
Dimension 3: Industry-Academia Collaboration
(1) Integration of teaching, examination, training, and employment, and strong performance in professional licensure
Aiming to cultivate well-rounded healthcare professionals, the university offers courses such as Health Big Data and Power BI Applications and Alternative Techniques for Animal Experimentation, strengthening clinical reasoning, digital competencies, and research ethics. Pass rates for various national professional and technical licensure examinations in healthcare fields are generally 20–40% higher than the national average, with some categories approaching full scores. Employer satisfaction exceeds 85%, indicating that students possess strong clinical readiness and employability.
(2) Startup acceleration and field validation linked to industry needs
Through the Entrepreneurship Operation Center and the “Aging Industry Startup Accelerator,” the university has built a comprehensive innovation support chain that spans technology transfer, startup incubation, clinical field validation, and international market expansion. Multiple clinical validation sites have been established in collaboration with hospitals and nursing homes to help companies implement and refine products, as well as participate in international exhibitions to expand overseas markets. By joining aging-innovation teams, entrepreneurship workshops, and technical courses, students gain direct exposure to industry demands in medical devices, nutrition, and assistive technologies. In 2025, there were three technology transfer cases totaling NT$2.2 million, with annual growth of about 10%. Industry–academia collaboration reached 75 projects with a total funding amount of NT$79 million.
Dimension 4: Making Higher Education More Accessible
(1) Strengthening financial aid and learning support to promote social mobility
Through multiple admission pathways, reserved quotas, and tuition and fee reductions, combined with donations from enterprises and alumni to build stable scholarship funds, tuition and fee reductions reached nearly 1,000 instances in Academic Year 113, with subsidies totaling over NT$32 million. Economically disadvantaged students receive systematic academic and life counseling through the “安心給力讀書室” (Safe and Empowering Study Room) and the “鷹架學伴計畫” (Scaffold Learning Buddy Program). Counseling cases increased from 102 to 147, with 60% of participating students showing improved academic performance and average class ranking rising by more than 20 places, effectively reducing the risk of dropout.
(2) Building a multicultural-friendly campus and strengthening sustainability literacy
Through life education courses and activities, gender equality lectures and seminars, and general education courses on Indigenous cultures with field visits to Indigenous communities, related courses and activities attracted over 5,000 participants in Academic Year 113, with satisfaction rates above 90%. The Indigenous Student Resource Center has provided nearly 2,000 counseling sessions, effectively enhancing learning stability and reducing withdrawal and transfer rates. In alignment with the “Deepening 100% Medical Competence” platform, communication, interpersonal skills, teamwork, and SDGs-related practice are incorporated into students’ learning portfolios. Pre- and post-tests using the UCAN system show significant improvement across all eight core competencies, highlighting the university’s concrete achievements in enhancing the public nature of higher education and promoting educational equity.