On November 18, 2022, in response to the United Nation’s Higher Education Sustainability Initiative, nine of Taiwan’s national universities met at the National Taiwan University Administration Hall to jointly announce the formation of the “Taiwan University Alliance for Sustainable Governance”.
The national universities party to the new alliance include Taiwan University, Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Central University, Chung Hsing University, Sun Yat-Sen University, Ocean University, Pingtung University of Science and Technology, and Dong Hwa University.
Together, the universities aim to build an exchange network among higher education institutions for the sharing of information and knowledge related to the sustainable governance of universities in Taiwan.
At the launching ceremony, Dr. Chin-Lung Chang, President of the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) explained that their university was established as an agricultural school, and that teachers and students at the school have long been invested in R&D related to agriculture, forestry, fisheries and animal husbandry with the aim of promoting friendly agriculture and low-carbon practices. In addition to this, NPUST is promoting green energy transportation policies at the school and implementing measures to reduce carbon emissions and air pollution by installing and developing solar energy, wind energy, and other green energy equipment. In 2020, in order to oversee the management of campus sustainability and social responsibility, the university also established the NPUST Sustainable Development Office, which is working to integrate the spirit of sustainable development into operations, education, R&D, and social services. Through the establishment of the Taiwan University Alliance for Sustainable Governance, hopes are to contribute to the sustainable development of the earth together.
As part of its commitment to the sustainable governance of school affairs, NPUST has integrated the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into its medium and long-term development plans. In 2022, NPUST ranked among the top 201-300 universities globally on the UK Times Higher Education (THE) University Global Impact Evaluation, and came first among Taiwan’s national universities of science and technology. NPUST has also ranked first in Taiwan for eight consecutive years on the GreenMetric University Ranking, and in 2021 it ranked 29th world-wide. Adding to this, in 2021, the university won the “Platinum Award” in the University Group at the 14th TCSA Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Awards, and became a model for campus sustainability.
As part of the University Alliance for Sustainable Governance, NPUST hopes to share sustainable governance experiences with other universities and contribute to the promotion of sustainable development. By unifying the momentum of each school, cooperating on innovative solutions, and aligning Taiwan’s higher education sustainable practices with international standards, the alliance will be able to expand the Taiwan’s sustainable outlook and help higher education move towards these common goals.
