Higher Education SPROUT Project

Outcomesof the Higher Education Sprout Project - Master Plan in 2019

Implement Educational Innovation and Improve the Quality of Education

Based on the implementation results of the summer program in 2018, improvement was made. The outcomes of the summer program in 2019 are listed as follows:
1.38 courses were offered. 119 students enrolled in these courses, and the proportion of students is 10.8%. (This figure exceeds the annual target of 9%).
2.A total of 19 students have completed their studies early and graduated in the summer vacation of the third year.
3.We hired 45 external teachers for collaborative teaching and practical field arrangements.
4.We sponsored underprivileged students to enroll in summer courses. A total of 9 students were sponsored. A total amount of NTD$211,500 was paid to fund their credit fees.
5.Evaluation results based on students' satisfaction with the summer courses are mostly around 4.4 points on a 5-point Liker scale. Students’ opinions and feedback were provided to teachers and relevant departments that offered the summer courses, so they could improve their teaching quality as well as to enhance students' learning motivation and effectiveness.

Students have positive feedback on the aspect of employability enhancement, including "interdisciplinary knowledge and integration", "self-motivated and lifelong learning", "creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship", and "problem-solving skills", etc.

“Develop School Features”
Chang Gung University won two "Outstanding Contributions to Technology Transfer Awards” in 2018 from the Ministry of Science and Technology. They are:

Associate Professor Cheng-Lung Ku’s research team found that "anti-interferon-gamma human antibodies" can neutralize interferon-gamma in patients, thereby inhibiting the patient's immune system and achieving the goal of treating immune system diseases. The Interferon gamma antibody is a human monoclonal antibody fully obtained directly from the human body. It has the characteristics of a strong affinity to the human body and low antigenicity. It can quickly develop into an efficient and safe antibody drug. 
Professor Min-Hsien Wu and his R&D team have developed an "optically-induced-dielectrophoretic (ODEP) cell purification and separation method”, which uses the optically-induced-dielectrophoretic biological cell manipulation technology in a microfluidic platform to purify and separate high-purity cells. This technology can use a liquid biopsy to treat cancer precisely and overcome the bottleneck of separating and purifying high-purity circulating tumor cells from the blood of cancer patients.

"Enhance the Public Value of Higher Education"
The student aspect:
1.Increase and guarantee the opportunities to study for underprivileged students: Actively promote the "Financial Assistance Scheme" to enhance the schooling opportunities of economically underprivileged students. In 2019, the enrolment of underprivileged students has increased by 47 students.
2.Increase financial support for underprivileged students, so that they can learn with peace of mind: In 2019, various scholarships and grants of a total amount of NTD$5,618,846 were offered to 493 students. Furthermore, Formosa Plastics Corporation provided 46 job opportunities for students to study and work during summer.
3.Create a friendly learning environment for underprivileged students: Actively create a friendly learning environment for underprivileged students, and provide 4 assistance measures, including "merit-based scholarships", "study aid", "practical course subsidy" and "skill certification subsidy". These assistance measures were offered to a total of 1,049 students in 2019, with a total amount of NTD$6,224,787.
4.Strengthen the network of advisors to care for underprivileged students: In 2019 (from January to November), there were 512 underprivileged students of all kinds, and 897 consultation sessions were held, and the consultation rate reached 175.2%. 5. Provide employment assistance: A total of 18 sessions of job consultation were held in 2019. We cooperated with Formosa Plastics Corporation at the same time, recommending outstanding graduates to Formosa Plastics Corporation for priority employment.

The institutional aspect:
1.Design smart dashboards to support decision-making: Establish 37 dashboards to assist each unit in analysis and decision-making.
2.Establish a single index system: Collect and organize the information of school data to automatically calculate tasks as the basis for performance tracker.
3.Provide analysis reports for important indicators: Provide various data and guidelines for departments and graduate schools, as well as promote the advantages of research and analysis of school affairs.
4.Promote research on school affairs: Conduct 3 explanatory and opinion exchange seminars to implement a data-based decision-making mechanism.
5.Upgrade the school affairs and financial information disclosure area: Present the current status and features of the school's operations in a chart.

"Fulfill University Social Responsibility"
Industry-University Collaboration:
At the end of the year, the University and various industry associations jointly organized a cross-school technology seminar to share research results in order to boost the opportunities to cooperate with manufacturers, as well as to promote industry-university momentum and interdisciplinary collaboration between schools. In the past three years, our industry-university collaboration has secured an average of more than 100 projects with companies every year. In 2018, the performance of industry-university collaboration has reached NTD$140,770,000 through marketing activities. The performance of industry-university collaboration has reached NTD$150,000,000 since the implementation in 2019.

USR Hub：
The university’s social responsibility practice is to introduce the power of teachers and students’ professionalism, investigate the social needs, and then link to innovative curriculum and teaching. So far, there have been 9 field courses with a total of 180 students participating. Teachers and students assist the public professionally in health activities and learn about self-care. They are well accepted and recognized by residents there. In addition, they effectively promoted the practice of social responsibility, cared about local health, and developed a community model for local aging health promotion.