Higher Education SPROUT Project

National University of Tainan (NUTN) Higher Education Sprout Project 2025 Achievement Highlights

Ⅰ.Teaching Innovation and Academic Advancement

A. Cultivating Key Competencies in "Information Technology and Humanistic Care"

1. Offering AI-Related Courses and Integrating AI into Learning and Activities

In response to the rapid rise of AI technologies, NUTN has adopted the strategy of “Learning AI and Learning Through AI” to integrate AI into teaching, learning, and curriculum design. Since the second phase of the Higher Education Sprout Project (2023), the University has actively expanded its AI curriculum. By 2024, NUTN had offered 14 AI-related courses, including six interdisciplinary AI courses and eight professional courses in “Artificial Intelligence and Applications” (Figures 1 and 3). In 2024 alone, professional AI courses recorded 264 enrollments (Figures 2 and 4), effectively strengthening students’ competencies in educational technology, digital learning, and industry applications.

In promoting the use of AI learning tools, NUTN has encouraged students to incorporate AI into their learning processes since 2023. By 2024, there were 2,773 instances of student AI usage in areas such as data analysis, content generation, and interactive learning, demonstrating the deep integration of AI across instructional settings. The University also developed AI tool recommendation lists for 16 academic departments to support AI adoption in course design, learning analytics, and intelligent assessment. Faculty satisfaction with AI-assisted teaching reached 4.05 out of 5.

For faculty professional development, NUTN established an AI Teaching Excellence Community and regularly organizes workshops on generative AI, data mining, and natural language processing. Through inter-university exchange and AI competitions, students obtained 10 AI-related professional certifications, reinforcing NUTN’s leadership in advancing regional AI education.

B. Cultivating Students with Key "Interdisciplinary" Competencies

1. Constructing a Diverse Learning Landscape with Micro-credit and Interdisciplinary General Education Courses

NUTN equips students with strong interdisciplinary and liberal arts foundations through a comprehensive micro-credential and general education framework. The University offers nine cross-domain micro-programs—from AI and sustainability to management, arts, and communication—giving students flexible pathways to develop future-ready skills. In AY 114, students completed 162 courses, reaching 9,883 enrollments and earning 299 certificates, demonstrating growing demand for cross-domain learning.

Autonomous learning is rapidly expanding on campus. New student-led course design workshops and micro-credit innovation programs encourage faculty–student co-creation, while partnerships with platforms such as eWant and the National Summer School broaden access to diverse learning resources. Student participation and showcase presentations continue to rise, with satisfaction projected to surpass 70%, signaling a strong culture of self-driven learning.

To strengthen digital fluency, all freshmen now take Computational Thinking and AI-Enabled Programming, taught through differentiated tracks for STEM and non-STEM students, with learning outcomes exceeding 70%. Combined with the AI micro-program and digital micro-credits, students gain hands-on experience applying computational and AI skills in authentic, real-world learning scenarios.

2.  Interdisciplinary Practice of SDGs × Language Literacy × AI Application

NUTN’s Department of Chinese Language and Literature is redefining language education by merging literacy, creativity, SDGs, and AI innovation. Through SDG- and AI-themed writing, public speaking, and multimodal creation, students produced the anthology Qifan—featuring over 100 works from prose and poetry to AI-generated music and video—showcasing their creative power across disciplines.

NUTN students also delivered outstanding results in the national reading assessment, achieving a 97.8% pass rate and surpassing national norms across all reading dimensions. Their performance in Narrative Integration (+16.5%) and Critical Reasoning (+19.2%) highlights exceptional analytical and higher-order thinking abilities.

With eight expert-led lectures on local writing, AI creative expression, and ecological sustainability, along with the Songtao Literary Awards, the department has built a full ecosystem from learning to public creation. Upcoming AI Co-Creation Awards will further push the boundaries of digital-language integration.

3. Integration of Technology in Sports and Health

NUTN advances “Tech-Enhanced Sports × Healthy Campus” through integrated fitness testing, sport incentives, micro-programs, and assistive technologies. In AY 114, the Department of Physical Education provided InBody and fitness assessments for 170 faculty/students and 970 freshmen, and launched diverse activity incentives—running, golf, hiking, windsurfing—engaging 247 regular exercisers.

The new Sports & Leisure Micro-Program offers 5 courses across 3 modules, taught jointly with industry partners and local venues, enrolling 242 students and strengthening professional and leisure-industry skills. A cross-college collaboration with Computer Science also produced a wearable monitoring system for students with disabilities, benefiting 324 users through real-time safety monitoring.

In community engagement, PE faculty and students co-delivered health-promotion programs for older adults, involving 120 students and 420 seniors, transforming sports science into meaningful social impact and expanding students’ applied, interdisciplinary learning.

C. Cultivating Students' Key Competencies in "Self-Directed Learning"

1. Constructing a Digital Self-Directed Learning and Smart Learning Ecosystem

NUTN is accelerating digital transformation through a dual-core model of the Cloud Academy and the Digital Learning Center. Since adopting the Ewant digital learning platform in 2019, the University has expanded diverse online courses and self-learning resources, reaching over 8,000 enrollments. The Cloud Academy (established 2022) created a dedicated online learning space, while the Digital Learning Center (established 2024) now oversees course review, system management, and incentive programs. In 2025, NUTN formalized the Digital Self-Learning Guidelines, completing mechanisms for course recommendation, review, and credit recognition.

By the end of 2025, the University will launch full-campus promotion and publish course information online. Students may take digital courses from Coursera, edX, Ewant, and other platforms, earning up to 12 credits and receiving up to NT$3,000 in learning subsidies. Through this dual-center structure, NUTN fosters a smart-learning ecosystem grounded in autonomous learning, cross-domain innovation, and digital transformation, positioning the University as a regional leader in digital learning excellence.

2. Faculty-Student Co-learning Communities and Competition Practice

NUTN strengthens active and experiential learning through vibrant faculty–student learning communities. In AY 114, the Center for Teaching and Learning established 31 communities, engaging 37 faculty and 225 students in theme-based collaborative learning. Through guided reading, project-based inquiry, and showcases, students develop stronger problem-solving skills, creativity, and lifelong learning attitudes.

The University also encourages faculty to mentor students in external competitions—including Generative AI Creative Application, AI Innovation Projects, National Intercollegiate Games, and arts and performance contests—helping students advance professional skills, teamwork, and self-management. These demonstrate both students’ autonomous learning capabilities and faculty’s deep commitment to instructional support.

3. Self-Directed Learning Support Mechanism and International Exchange

NUTN is building a powerful ecosystem for self-directed learning, helping students take charge of their academic and personal growth. In 2024, expert-led workshops equipped students with career tools, planning strategies, and supportive learning communities to design personalized learning pathways (Figure 23).

Self-learning also extends to global engagement. Students from NUTN’s English Self-Learning Group independently created routes and English tour scripts, guiding international students from National Chung Cheng University through an immersive cultural journey across Tainan (Figure 24). From research to execution, students led the entire process—strengthening language ability, cultural literacy, and real-world problem-solving skills.

Interdisciplinary teams, including participants in the Penghu Bay Swimming Challenge, further demonstrated student initiative, teamwork, and resilience—living out the spirit of becoming self-driven knowledge creators.

4. Teaching Practice Research and Curriculum Quality Assurance

To strengthen faculty professional growth and improve course quality, the Center for Teaching and Learning Development implemented a comprehensive support program for teaching-practice research. The Center organized the “Pedagogy × Assessment × Academic Writing” workshop series, provided one-on-one proposal consultation through its “project check-up” service, and offered guidance on internal calls and external reviews. To date, the Center has assisted 15 faculty members in completing external review procedures, with successful applicants receiving an NT$8,000 incentive, effectively increasing faculty engagement in teaching-practice research.

      NUTN’s Curriculum and Instruction Division is elevating teaching quality through an upgraded, future-ready course quality assurance system. By enhancing the Curriculum QA Manual and SDG integration guidelines, the University ensures that sustainability and innovative pedagogy are embedded across the curriculum. Data-driven tracking further supports evidence-based improvement.

      With a coordinated framework—capacity-building workshops, internal reviews, personalized course check-ups, and a fully institutionalized QA system—NUTN now offers end-to-end support from curriculum design to quality assurance. This integrated model serves as a cornerstone for fostering teaching innovation and advancing excellence in higher education.

D. Cultivating Students’ Key Competencies in International Mobility

1. Strengthening Students’ English and Multilingual Readiness

NUTN accelerates students’ global readiness by expanding English and multilingual learning opportunities. Since AY 107, enhanced English courses, situational training, and exam coaching have raised the English proficiency passing rate from 51% to 64%, demonstrating the effectiveness of instructional support (Figure 31).

  To broaden global competence, the University offered 21 second-language courses in AY 114, attracting 280 enrollments with satisfaction scores above 4.5. From AY 112–114, multilingual enrollments reached 809, reflecting strong and growing student interest (Figure 32). Interactive teaching, cultural immersion, and game-based activities further boosted motivation and learning outcomes.

  In AY 115, NUTN will recruit two international instructors to strengthen workplace English modules and industry-focused training, helping students build competitive skills for global careers.

2. Global Field-Based Learning — Expanding Student Mobility and Cross-Cultural Exchange 

NUTN provides students with immersive overseas learning experiences to build global mobility and intercultural competence. Since AY 106, the University has supported field-based programs across multiple countries, enabling students to learn directly from international academic and cultural contexts.

By AY 114, 19 faculty and 129 students had participated. In AY 114, 6 professors led 28 students abroad. A key highlight was the Materials Science program at Kyushu University, where students engaged in advanced materials and sustainable manufacturing research, completed joint experiments, and produced project outcomes. The team plans co-authored submissions to international conferences and SCI journals, reflecting meaningful academic impact and global collaboration (Figures 33–34).

3. International Administrative Support

NUTN continues to expand bilingual services to create a more international-friendly campus. Major student-affairs platforms— including conduct applications, leave forms, course selection pages, syllabi, and the academic calendar—are now fully bilingual, with remaining Ecorse pages to be completed soon to further support international students.

To strengthen global communication capacity, NUTN held five practical English workshops for staff, with 10 members reaching B2 proficiency.

The University also deepened industry connections by partnering with nine companies on internships, lectures, and job-shadowing, and hosting 15 employment and legal-information sessions. In AY 113-2, 21 international graduates remained in Taiwan for employment, demonstrating solid support and strong industry linkage.

4. Establishing a Transnational Research Center — Taiwan–Japan AI and Human–Machine Interaction Platform

NUTN and Tokyo Metropolitan University have launched the Natural Communication Intelligence and Robotics Laboratory (NCI-R Lab.) Figures 36, officially unveiled on November 5. This milestone signals a major leap in Taiwan–Japan collaboration in AI, human–machine interaction, and cross-lingual technology research. The lab brings together TMU’s Communication and Cognition Research Center and NUTN’s Knowledge Application and Web Services Research Center to build a unified, high-impact research platform.

Centered on “natural communication,” the lab advances cutting-edge work in cross-lingual speech recognition (including Taiwanese, English, Japanese, and Indigenous languages), generative AI, and quantum-intelligent computing. Its mission is to push beyond the cultural and linguistic limitations of traditional AI.

The partnership will drive short-term student research visits, exchange seminars, joint faculty projects, and international publications—strengthening NUTN’s global research presence and positioning natural communication as a next-generation language for international AI research.

II. Fulfilling Social Responsibility

A. Cultivating Key Competencies in Social Engagement

　NUTN places “social engagement” and “altruistic co-existence” at the heart of student development. Through coordinated efforts across student affairs units, the University empowers students to step beyond the classroom, engage with communities, and build real-world civic and interdisciplinary competencies.

In AY 114, NUTN delivered 13 hands-on skill and leadership workshops, strengthening students’ communication, creativity, and media production abilities, with overall growth exceeding 9.3%. These programs deepen students’ capacity to engage meaningfully with society.

The Center for Teacher Education further expanded its social impact through AI camps, inclusive learning camps, aesthetic education programs, and bilingual outreach, promoting digital inclusion, equitable learning, and support for vulnerable groups. These community-based teaching experiences help pre-service teachers translate knowledge into action and cultivate empathy, design thinking, and technological competence.

NUTN also mobilized 11 student teams to serve rural communities and local schools, providing tutoring and community programs for children and older adults. Service efforts reached 1,400+ beneficiaries and contributed to 22 SDG actions, demonstrating strong student-driven sustainability impact.
Through its “1+100” support model, the Counseling Center offered 100 counseling sessions and 19 mental health events, encouraging students to evolve from recipients of care to active contributors, strengthening a campus culture of empathy and altruism.

B. Cultural Practice and Local Revitalization

The College of Arts (B2, B3, B6) leverage art, technology, and narrative power to promote "Cultural Revitalization × Community Co-learning.

" The Department of Drama (B2) centers on "Art × AI × Community" to develop cross-disciplinary narrative competence courses and AI interactive theater. In 2025, it offered 8 courses, held 3 performances/exhibitions, and produced 40 works. Simultaneously, it integrates community theater fieldwork with local craftsmanship and religious culture, encouraging youth to return to their hometowns and participate.

　　The Department of Visual Design (B3) promotes "Virtual-Real Tracking—Cultural Wandering Study," using Tainan's historical sites as material to create immersive cultural education through VR, animation, and story maps. This guides elementary school children to learn about the historical city gates of Tainan (Fucheng) using English, computational thinking, and gamification.

The Department of Music (B6) promotes "Intergenerational Co-learning × Artistic Co-creation," deepening intergenerational exchange through senior-friendly instrument courses and performances, and cultivating young people to serve as music teachers, thus fostering community inclusion.

The USR "Youth-Senior Rock Power" project connects Chiayi and Tainan's local culture through walking tours, co-creation workshops, photography, and exhibitions, and was nominated for the Regional Revitalization Award.

C. Environmental Sustainability and Ecological Education

The College of Environmental and Ecological Sciences (B4) focuses on "2050 Net-Zero" and the circular economy. Based at Shanshang Elementary School, it established a green energy education and recycling demonstration site, guiding children through hands-on practice from solar principles to fans, satellites, and waterwheels. It also combined AR, ecological fieldwork, and industry collaboration to promote photovoltaic panel recycling education.

　The Department of Ecology and Environmental Resources (B5) is based at Jian Shan Pi, promoting four-season ecological surveys, environmental education courses, and tourism planning, and cultivating nature teacher trainees, establishing a species database and educational materials for the park.

D. Educational Equity and Care for the Vulnerable

The “Happiness Assistive Technology” USR Project supports students with special needs through assistive innovation, maker education, and AI-driven design. In AY 114, it offered 13 courses with 283 students, developing low-cost assistive tools such as the Happiness Voice Device, Mobile Black Room, and Happiness Story Machine. The project completed three technology transfers and received the 2025 Global Views USR Grand Prize.

Its impact now reaches over 8,000 special-needs students worldwide through free, customizable assistive devices. Resources are shared openly on the AxcellenT Assistive Lab platform (https://www.axcellent.fun/) and YouTube tutorials, enabling teachers and parents to design personalized tools that meet individual learning needs.

　The "Teaching for Rural Areas" USR deeply cultivated Cigu and expanded to Jiangjun, Beimen, and Guanmiao districts. In 2025, teacher trainees dedicated 2,784 hours to on-site work, established 30 case records for students with special needs, and launched campus recovery actions after the Typhoon Dujuan disaster, earning recognition with the Commonwealth Magazine USR Model Award.

III: Industry-Academia Collaboration and Connection
A. Enhancing Students' Problem-Solving Capabilities to Narrow the Academia-Industry Gap

(C1)To resolve the critical issue of students' insufficient industry awareness, NUTN organized 7 deep-dive corporate visits this year, accumulating 230 student participants. These visits spanned diverse sectors, including traditional industry leaders (e.g., Eternal Materials Co., Ltd.), environmental education, cultural and creative media, and the national-level startup base (TTA Southern Base).

• Outcome: The systematic on-site visits successfully broadened students' perspectives on various industry types and effectively strengthened their career motivation.
• Performance Metrics: The visit satisfaction rate reached a high 4.6 points (out of 5.0), and over 90% of participating students reported that the visits substantially helped clarify their career direction (Figure 88.).

Figure 88. Industry visit: student satisfaction, visit frequency, and participation numbers.

B. Building an Industry-Academia Co-Creation Network, Focusing on Frontier Trends

1. Promoting Industry-Academia Cooperation

NUTN continues to expand its industry–academia collaboration network. This year, the University established partnerships with 10 innovation-oriented enterprises, including HuaShengMi Design, How’s Social Enterprise, and ZhanMouJia Marketing, and implemented an industry mentor system to strengthen professional engagement.

In response to global priorities in ESG sustainability and carbon credit development, NUTN co-organized an Industry–Academia Sharing Forum with the Carbon Materials Society, integrating academic research with industrial practices in materials technology analysis (Figure 91). In addition, the University is collaborating with National Cheng Kung University to co-host the 9th Taiwan Carbon Materials Symposium in 2026, demonstrating NUTN’s academic leadership and cross-institutional coordination in key emerging industries.

Figure 91. Carbon Materials Society Industry–Academia Sharing Forum.

2. Startup Incubation: Translating Campus Creativity into Market Value

(C2)In the realm of innovation and entrepreneurship cultivation, NUTN guided 10 student teams to challenge the Ministry of Education's U-START Innovation Startup Project.

 Funding Success: 3 teams successfully passed the screening process, collectively securing NT$1.5 million in seed funding (figure 92). Highlight Case: The "Square Meter Ten" team, which developed an adventure experience game focused on environmental protection, not only successfully commercialized the work and launched it on the international Steam platform but also won the "Best Environmental Protection Game Award" at the 2025 National College Game Concept Design Competition.

This case validates NUTN's "Four-Creation (Creativity, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Genesis) Education Model" in effectively transforming student ideas into marketable products.

Figure92. U-start Plan: Framework for Guidance and Pathways for Successful Transformation

C. Optimizing Internship and Career Counseling Mechanisms

1. Deepening Internship Operations for Seamless Workplace Transition

(C3)To resolve the academia-industry skills gap, the Center for Teaching and Learning Development actively established a standardized, high-quality internship system, vigorously promoting the "NUTN Internship Partner Alliance" and rigorously selecting premium internship sites(figure 93).

• Curriculum & Training: NUTN fully implemented a Competency-Based Education model and mandated "Pre-Internship Joint Competency Training," covering critical topics such as workplace sexual harassment prevention and labor rights/regulations, thereby empowering students with essential workplace ethics and legal literacy.
• Dual Mentorship and Optimization: The university enforced a "Dual Industry-Academia Mentorship" mechanism, combining the expertise of industry specialists and internal faculty for joint guidance. We also integrated data science analytics to evaluate internship effectiveness, ensuring precise optimization of the internship curriculum content.

Figure93: NUTN Internship Partner Alliance

2. Building a Comprehensive Career Counseling Ecosystem

(C4)The Alumni Service Center achieved excellent employment guidance performance through three core strategies: Competency Building, Precision Consulting, and Corporate Matching.

• Competency Building and Certification: NUTN hosted 30 career workshops, attracting over 1,200 participants with satisfaction rates exceeding 4.5 points. We actively promoted certification guidance, resulting in general students obtaining 368 professional certificates, with over NT$200,000 in incentive bonuses awarded.
• Quantified Skill Growth (UCAN): We fully implemented UCAN competency pre- and post-testing. Data indicates that students achieved significant post-test growth of 2% to 9% in four key common competencies: Information Technology Application, Communication and Expression, Continuous Learning, and Problem Solving.
• Precision Consulting and Placement: Individualized deep consulting services (resume review/mock interviews) reached 172 person-times, representing a substantial increase of over 200% year-over-year. We successfully guided a student to achieve the top score in the Chunghwa Post recruitment examination.
• Alumni Tracking Excellence: The graduate flow tracking questionnaire achieved a high response rate of 87.87% (figure 94), far exceeding the national average. This robust system effectively captures alumni status and provides essential feedback for institutional development.

IV. Advancing the Public Value of Higher Education

A. Implementing Equal Enrollment Opportunities and Eliminating Economic Barriers

1. Educational Equity: Constructing a Comprehensive Support System for Secure Learning

 (D1) Traditional admission systems and associated costs—such as application fees, transportation, and accommodation—often constitute structural barriers that prevent economically and culturally disadvantaged students from entering the higher education system. To fully implement the "Public Nature of Higher Education" (高教公共性), the National University of Tainan (NUTN) maintains stable and significant efficacy in recruiting underrepresented students. In the 2025 academic year, the University successfully recruited 187 economically or culturally disadvantaged students, accounting for 18.8% of the freshman class (Table1).

  Concurrently, NUTN adopts a "Zero Burden" strategy to effectively eliminate candidates' financial concerns. We waive registration fees for application-based admissions, transfer examinations, and special selection channels. Furthermore, we provide user-friendly measures such as video interviews and offer substantial subsidies for transportation and accommodation (Table 2).

Table1. Proportion of Economically and Culturally Disadvantaged First-Year Students.

Table2. Assistance Provided for Application Fees, Transportation, and Accommodation.

2. Replacing Part-time Work with Learning to Transform Academic Performance

  Through the "Learning instead of Working empowerment program, NUTN links scholarships directly to learning outcomes, enabling students to shift their focus from off-campus part-time jobs back to on-campus studies. As of October 2025, the University has disbursed TWD 2,536,909, benefiting 1,236 person-times. Furthermore, from 2018 to 2025, we have raised a cumulative total of over TWD 26.63 million, assisting 485 person-times from economically disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue their studies without financial worry.

  A longitudinal analysis from the 2018 to 2025 academic years indicates that economically disadvantaged students participating in this program achieved an average semester grade 3 to 6 points higher than general students. Additionally, their average class ranking surpassed general students by 3 to 8 places. These statistics forcefully demonstrate that our support system effectively transforms adversity into academic motivation, achieving the substantive goal of "education-driven social mobility."( Table 3-4)

B. Cultivating Culture: Deepening Roots and Global Connections

1.Fostering Cross-Cultural Dialogue and Action

(D2) Global Indigenous Engagement: In a landmark event, NUTN invited the renowned Canadian Indigenous artist Aysanabee for an inspiring lecture-concert. This session sparked dynamic cultural agency: our Indigenous students responded to the international guest with a traditional circle dance, transforming the event into a space for active cultural praxis and meaningful global dialogue.

Immersive Experiential Learning: Moving beyond the classroom, we organized immersive Cultural Walks to the Tsou tribe's Tanayiku Valley. By uniting Indigenous students with our international student community in this setting, NUTN successfully bridged the gap between academic theory and real-world experience. This initiative underscores our commitment to experiential multicultural education, fostering deep bonds across diverse ethnic backgrounds.

2.Innovatively Establishing a mpus-wide Platform for Cultural Understanding

The University successfully organized the inaugural "Indigenous Culture and Arts Week," themed <Grain · Gathering> . Through diverse formats including exhibitions, performances, hands-on workshops, and cultural-creative markets, this initiative successfully achieved the promotion goals of "Indigenous Education for All". It significantly enhanced the understanding of and participation in Indigenous cultures among all faculty and students.

  Furthermore, NUTN has organized student participation in the Liuchongxi Taivoan Night Sacrifice for the fifth consecutive time. This sustained engagement continues to deepen partnerships with local tribes, fully demonstrating the students' high degree of cultural agency and establishing strong local connections within the University's surrounding communities.

C. Diversified Faculty Promotion System

1. Implementing Diversified Promotion Mechanisms to Deepen the Application Value of Teaching and Industry-Academia Collaboration

  (D3) To encourage faculty excellence in teaching and industry-academia performance, the University provides comprehensive and diversified promotion channels. Over the past three years, 3 faculty members successfully achieved promotion through these diversified mechanisms, constituting 9.1% of the total promotions in the respective year. Additionally, the University conducted specialized evaluations for 2 faculty members, with 1 member subsequently achieving promotion.

Regarding gender demographics for the 2025 academic year (based on the October 2025 University Database)：

• Administrative Staff: Total of 330 (57% Female, 43% Male, Figure105)
• Full-time and Part-time Faculty: Total of 440 (43.6% Female, 56.4% Male, Figure106).

The University continues to reinforce gender-friendly initiatives, including policy reviews, the enhancement of support mechanisms, and diversity awareness advocacy, to progressively cultivate a work environment that respects difference and embraces diversity.

V. Developing Institutional Distinctiveness

1. Empowering Future Educators

NUTN prepares future educators with professional expertise, digital competence, and a strong sense of care. In 2024, we accelerated innovation in teacher training by offering 20 technology-enhanced courses, enabling 600+ pre-service teachers to gain micro-specializations in educational technology or EMI. Over 100 students also supported after-school programs in local schools, expanding learning opportunities for disadvantaged children.

Our teacher candidates achieved strong outcomes: 1,096 students passed the national competency assessment (pass rate 82.53%), and they created 44 demo videos and 59 bilingual/digital lesson plans showcasing practical impact.

With the launch of the AI-powered Edu-Inno Lab (Figure 107), NUTN now provides an advanced environment for developing AI-integrated teaching skills. Our students’ strengthened competence has already been recognized in the National Bilingual Digital Lesson Plan Competition.

2. Cultivating Talent for Environmental Sustainability

NUTN’s Lithium Battery Research Center accelerated progress in talent development and global collaboration. In 2024, it hosted two programs with 337 participants, while five students presented at ALHFES 2025 and one completed an NSTC-funded research project.

The Center launched joint anode-material research with Japan’s IIDE and Google, and worked with Hon Hai (Foxconn) to involve three students in industry-based R&D.

The Center further enhanced its capabilities by installing three new instruments, offering four training sessions, and building international partnerships with institutions in Germany, Japan’s IIDE, NSRRC, and ANSTO.

The project accelerated cutting-edge research on catalytic carbon and energy-storage materials while deepening faculty and student expertise in net-zero strategies, negative-carbon technologies, and low-carbon processes through expert lectures. Major achievements include next-generation catalyst development, CO₂ columnar and hollow catalyst innovation, a completed hydrogen-monitoring system, and newly engineered porous carbon and copper-based materials. Through this initiative, 12 emerging specialists were trained and two international journal papers were submitted, underscoring the program’s growing impact in sustainable energy materials and advanced talent development.

3. Breakthroughs in Clean Energy Innovation

NUTN’s Solar Cell Research Center is leading Taiwan’s transition to a circular green energy economy. The Center developed a fully automated PV recycling system, built an industrial alliance of 21 companies, and attracted 30+ firms to its 2025 annual meeting—accelerating the green transformation of the PV recycling chain. Its patented frame-dismantling system (I888898) and the National Industrial Innovation Award further highlight its research excellence.

After Typhoon Danas, the Center supported industry partners in expanding recycling capacity and helped secure Taiwan’s first PV panel reuse permit. In July 2025, the Center showcased four core recycling technologies—silicon, glass, backsheet, and EVA recovery—with strong student participation. A new collaboration with Mayshowa Malaysia on lead-acid battery recycling underscores NUTN’s expanding international impact in clean energy research (Figure 114.).

The Low-Grade Energy Research Center strengthened NUTN’s capacity in southern Taiwan’s energy research by integrating national policies with industry collaboration. The Center achieved in thermoelectric, geothermal, and industrial waste-heat recovery technologies, training 4 students, securing NT$3.489 million in NSTC and commissioned projects, and producing 7 conference and SCI papers. It also filed a patent for Ga-doped ZnO thin films.

Through commissioned projects with Yongquan Crystal, national defense partners, and others, the Center demonstrated integrated impacts in technology development, talent cultivation, and industry–academia cooperation.

VI. Information Security – Campus Cybersecurity Implementation

Since AY 111, the University has implemented information security and personal data protection standards, supported by the Higher Education Sprout Project. All personnel must complete over 3 hours of annual cybersecurity training, and a cybersecurity awareness portal and governance system have been established.

From AY 112–114, the University organized two auditor training programs, certifying 60 administrative staff with a 100% pass rate; 64 staff members participated in internal audits. In AY 114, external consultants, the Library and Information Services Office, and 28 certified auditors completed a campus-wide audit, assisting 39 administrative units and 27 academic units in strengthening cybersecurity management.