The “Taiwan Patent Go” expo debuted this year (2025) at the Taiwan International Machine Tool Show (TIMTOS). Receiving an invitation from the Intellectual Property Office (Ministry of Economic Affairs), Professor Wei-tai Huang of the NPUST Department of Mechanical Engineering set up an exhibit to present the world’s first “vibration-assisted tool holder for cutting tools” with a built-in actuator. His invention, which won the Platinum Award at the 2022 Taiwan Innotech Expo (TIE), received a lot of attention, with major manufacturers showing considerable interest in its capabilities. The patent is a reflection of type of top level R&D taking place at NPUST—R&D which is bringing new solutions to issues closely linked to carbon reduction and smart manufacturing.

On March 11 (2025), the NPUST Department of Environmental Science and Engineering held the “Seminar on Industry Practices in Environmental Sustainability”, inviting experts and scholars from various fields for in-depth discussions on new trends and developments in environmental sustainability and health care industries. With about 350 teachers, students and representatives from industry and academia in attendance, the seminar put focus on the two major themes of “Environment, Carbon and Sustainable Industry Practical Applications” and “Environment, Health and Sustainable Industry Applications”, while giving attention to the low-carbon policies promoted by the Executive Yuan.

The Limited Liability Kaohsiung-Pingtung Area Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry Production Cooperative, which was jointly established by the residents of Liugui, Kaohsiung and Neipu, Pingtung, held an unveiling ceremony at 10 a.m. on March 3, 2025 for its facilities at No. 2 Fuxing Lane, Liugui District, Kaohsiung. While giving Liugui’s natural resources a new fragrance and creating a new “Scent of the Mountains”, the establishment of the cooperative is a major milestone for the “National Forest Byproduct Essential Oil Promotion Program” which was jointly developed by National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) and the Pingtung Branch of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency.

This year (2024), on December 12th, the Taiwan Ecotourism and Regional Revitalization Alliance (TERRA) was jointly established at the Taipei NGO House by ecotourism counseling teams and tribal communities from across Taiwan. Over 150 distinguished guests from industry, government, academia attended the event to witness this historic moment, including Legislative Yuan members Ariel Chang and Hsu Fu-kuei, Control Yuan members Tien Chiu-chin, Shih Chin-fang, Acting Director CJ Chen of the National Parks Services, Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency Deputy Director Hao-Chen Lin, Secretary of the Tourism Fang Cheng-kuang, Technical Superintendent Li-Ju Song of the Council of Indigenous Peoples, President Chin-Lung Chang of the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, and representatives of 44 ecotourism organizations, 65 community tribes, and 10 counseling teams from around Taiwan.

The “Sen Lin People” activity jointly organized by the NPUST Department of Forestry and Ching Jing Lin Education Foundation has entered its sixth year this year. Taking place at the NPUST’s Baoli Forest Farm on December 6 (2024), an estimated 4,000 native Taiwanese species of trees were planted on two hectares of land during the day. Tree species included Acacia confusa, Liquidambar formosana, Palaquium formosanum, Autummn Maple Tree, Philippine Ebony Persimmon, and Diospyros eriantha.

The Conference for Meritorious Forestry and Nature Conservation, known as the “Green Oscars”, was held on November 23 (2024) to commend those who have made outstanding contributions to forest resources maintenance and natural ecological conservation. At the conference, Assistant Professor Hsin-Ju Wu of the NPUST Department of Forestry was awarded for her outstanding nature conservation work which promotes local cooperation for the sustainable utilization of mountain forest resources and the revitalization of traditional culture.