This year (2022), the 8th International Workshop on GreenMetrics (IWGM) was hosted by NPUST, marking the first time it was held by Taiwan. However, due to considerations related to the epidemic, the event was organized to take place online, rather than in a physical format. The opening ceremony for the workshop was scheduled for the evening of September 27, with NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang and the president of the GreenMetric University Rankings, Dr. Riri, serving as the hosts.

Since it was established as the Kaohsiung State Pingtung Extension School of Agriculture in 1924, NPUST has enjoyed a journey of nearly one hundred years. Coming a long way from its beginnings in traditional tropical agriculture, the university is now applying “One Health” and “Global Sustainability” in its mission to develop itself along the four main axes of “Technological Agriculture”, “Ecological Industries”, “Platinum Society”, and “Sustainable Economies”.

The 3rd UNTA Sustainability Course, which was jointly organized by the International Affairs Office and the Department of Tropical Agriculture, started on March 23 (‘22) and ran for a nine-week period. The online course covered a variety of themes, including energy, greenhouse gases, animal vaccines, and ecological conservation. International and inter-university in its design, teachers from different countries and different universities were invited to give lectures throughout the course. These teachers lectured from IPB University (IDN), University of Brawijaya (IDN), RMUTI (THA), Meizhou University (THA), Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry (VNM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (MYS) and National Pingtung University of Science and technology (TWN). The course provided students with a better understand the meaning behind the Sustainable Development Goals and promoted the spirit of the United Nations’ 17 SDGs.

As it continues to gear itself towards university sustainable development, NPUST is combining the resources of all of its administrative units and seven colleges for the purpose of implementing United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). And at Times Higher Education (THE) 2022 World University Ranking, the university’s efforts have been recognized once again.

At the 2022 Global Views University Social Responsibility Awards, a new category for “Comprehensive Performance” was added to the mix—and right out of the gates, NPUST was named “Top Technical and Vocational School” in the category. Meanwhile, the university’s “Golden Waves of Rice Reconcile with the Land” project won the “Model Award” in the Ecological Common Good category.

With climate change and carbon emissions causing concern around the globe, agriculture is being looked to as the optimal path towards carbon sequestration and carbon neutrality. At National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST), where agriculture gets primary focus, teachers are being encouraged to invest in the promotion of agricultural net zero and carbon sink technology as soon as possible. To further this agenda, Dr. Ho-Hsien Chen, the dean of the College of Agriculture, has put together intercollege and interdepartmental teams, and established the “College of Agriculture Office for the Promotion of Net Zero and Carbon Sink Tropical Organic Agriculture”. By harnessing the research energy of the members, the goal is to help the agro-industrial ecosystem achieve carbon reduction goals at lowest cost on all levels of production.