The 12th Taiwan-Thailand Bilateral Conference was held on November 14 (2024) at the NPUST College of Agriculture, giving focus this year to research that extends “From Sustainable Agriculture to One Health”. The occasion for bilateral academic exchange between Taiwan and Thailand included the three major fields of agriculture, food science, and veterinary medicine, and a total of 53 academic papers were published. Meanwhile, efforts were made to promote more intense industry-university cooperation and talent cultivation between the two countries. The conference was jointly opened by NPUST Vice President Shang-Min Ma and Kasetsart University (KU) Special Assistant to the President, Dr. Kornsorn Srikulnath. Scholars, researchers and industry figures from Taiwan, Thailand, and other countries were invited to participate in the seminar and share ideas and opportunities related sustainable development and international cooperation.

Confronting the challenge of global climate change while simultaneously promoting ecological conservation and natural carbon sequestration, the NPUST Department of Forestry and the Ministry of Agriculture’s Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency jointly held the “2024 Tropical Forestry Symposium” at the NPUST Library and Exhibition Hall on November 8th with the aim of fostering relevant academic exchange. NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute Director Yen-Hsueh Tseng, Branch Director Jui-Fen Yang of the Pingtung Branch of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency and many other officials, experts, and scholars gathered together to discuss relevant research results, share their different perspectives, and propose new opportunities for cooperation.

Geared up to celebrate its 100th Anniversary Celebration in a few short months, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) was just named winner of the 2024 CommonWealth Magazine University Citizen Award, distinguishing itself as the champion among all public technical and vocational schools in the country in the area of USR. At the award ceremony, which was held on September 18th, NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang and Center of Interdisciplinary Feature Development Director Hsu-Yang Kung accepted the award on behalf of the school.

The NPUST Forestry Department cooperated with the Daren Forest Farm and local businesses to hold a workshop during the summer holidays, running from August 21st to 23rd. The three-day and two-night training camp was designed with vocational high school students and teachers in mind. More than 30 teachers and students from 9 vocational high schools, 10 regular high schools, and non-school-affiliated experimental education groups from around Taiwan participated in the event.

The “2024 Smart-Tech Low-Carbon Agriculture and Sustainable Management Workshop” organized by the NPUST Program of Artificial Intelligence and Mechatronics was held on August 12th, attracting 20 elite Overseas Chinese students from such countries as Australia, Canada, the United States, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The turnout demonstrates the important role NPUST is playing with respect to the promotion of Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy.

Associate Professor Mohsen Gavahian of the NPUST Department of Food Science is dedicated to research in the field of novel food processing methods, and his work is having an impact. This is evidenced by the fact that each year, for the last four years, Gavahian’s name has been found on the prestigious Stanford-Elsevier Ranking of Top 2% Top-cited Researchers—a list which selects the top 2% of scholars from a pool of 8.5 million researchers globally. He was also awarded the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST, International) Award in 2022. Adding to these achievements, this year (2024) his excellent R&D and teaching capabilities have earned him the Youth Sustainability Leadership Award, which was presented to him on August 8th at the Taipei World Trade Center.