According National Development Council projections, 20% of Taiwan’s population will be 65 years or older by 2025, meaning that it will officially become a super-aged society. To prepare for this imminent challenge, the country is developing supportive measures related to long-term care and elderly care, with family caregivers playing the most important role. Hoping to add depth to the services, the Pingtung County Department of Longterm Care has entrusted the Social Welfare Association of Taiwan to coordinate with Professor Shan-Ru Chao of the Department of Social Work at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) and Dr. Chi-Fa Hung of the Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Together they will work to improve the professional capabilities of home care workers, and equip them with skills to formulate treatment plans and link resources.

On January 18, 2024, NPUST signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Commerce Development Research Institute, the ESG Global Federation, and Uplas Information Corp with the intention to “Promote ESG Courses and Certification at Taiwan’s Universities and Colleges”. Deputy CEO Fangyi Liu of the NPUST Sustainability Development Office represented the school at the signing ceremony. This year, a total of 22 colleges and universities signed the agreement and will take part in industry, government and academia cooperation on such items as curriculum planning, teacher training, course instruction, and sustainable assistant manager certifications. Together they will work to sow seeds for ESG sustainable education and cultivate internationally competitive ESG talent.

With the world pushing for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, Taiwan has made policy announcements and taken actions which echo the global trend. As Taiwan’s premier agricultural university, the century-old National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) has recognized its particular responsibility to conduct research on agricultural carbon reduction. Currently, a research team working under Associate Professor Yu-Ting Wu of the NPUST Department of Forestry is cooperating with the government to implement “Net Zero” objectives by improving soil carbon sinks (i.e. yellow carbon) and developing “carbon-negative” farming methods (where carbon removed exceeds carbon emitted).

The 17th International Warsaw Invention Show was held at the Warsaw University of Science and Technology from December 12 to 14 (2023), with fifteen countries participating in the event. This show is the second largest international exhibition of inventions in the European Union. The teams representing Taiwan at the show saw considerable success, winning 14 gold medals and 9 silver medals in total. Among the winning entries, two works submitted by a joint team from National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) and the Taiwan Air Force and Navy won Gold Medal Awards and a Special Contribution Award.

Every two years National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) publishes a Sustainability Report to keep its stakeholders and the general public informed about its efforts and performances in sustainable governance, financial management, environmental sustainability and social co-prosperity. The school also responds to the interests and concerns that stakeholders raise when it comes to sustainability issues. NPUST’s “2022 Sustainability Report” was submitted to the 2023 TCSA Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Awards, where it won the gold medal for the “University Sustainability Report” category. Such an honor is a clear affirmation of the efforts the university is making in environmental sustainability (E), social responsibility (S) and school governance (G).

For the past several years, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) has been actively promoting various ‘sustainable development’ related measures as part of its effort to help implement Taiwan’s sustainable development goals and achieve its 2050 net-zero emission objective. This year, the university was a candidate for the Executive Yuan’s 2023 Annual National Sustainability Development Award on account of its “Smart Agriculture Sustainable Development Plan”. After the rigorous preliminary review of the plan and an on-site briefing consultation and examination, NPUST stood out among the contenders and won this year’s award in the Education category. On November 30, President Chin-Lung Chang personally accepted the award, which was presented by Taiwan’s Premier, Chen Chien-jen.