As part of the government’s net-zero carbon emission policy, the Ministry of Agriculture is promoting four major areas of focus, including “reduction”, ” carbon sinks”, “recycling” and “green trends”. They also hope to see the active development of electric agricultural machinery which can replace the traditional combustion engines and help achieve carbon reduction goals. As part of this initiative, the Ministry of Agriculture Department of Agricultural Science and Technology invited industrial technology research institutes, battery motor & electronic control manufacturers and agricultural machinery manufacturers to attend a machine and tool exhibition at the NPUST Center for Smart Agriculture on April 24th, 2024.

NPUST won the National Sustainable Development Award in 2023 and was invited by the National Sustainable Development Committee (Executive Yuan) to participate in the “2nd 2050 Net Zero City Expo” at the Nangang Exhibition Center from March 19 to 22 (2024) and to display its sustainable achievements at the Net-Zero Transition Pavilion. At the expo, NPUST shared its UN-SDG sustainable practices and the action plans it is using to promote net-zero sustainability. AR technology and an SDG board game, which were developed by the university’s Smart Media Research Center, were also set up for visitor entertainment.

The 2024 Kaohsiung Smart City Exhibition was held at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center from March 21st to 23rd. Distinguished researchers from the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST), including Professor Yu-min Wang, Professor Cheng-Huei Yang, and Assistant Professor Liwei Liu, participated in the exhibition together with their team. At the exhibition the NPUST researchers published three innovative technologies at their booth, which was stationed in the Net Zero Innovation Pavilion.

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).