Center of Institutional Research & Development, National Formosa University

2022 Development Seminar

        The 111th Academic Year University Development Seminar, themed "Developing School Strengths and Responding to the Spirit of SDGs," was led by President Shinn-Liang Chang and involved colleagues from the university. Experts with extensive administrative experience were invited to give lectures, providing insightful speeches and facilitating exchanges. The seminar was successfully held on January 4, 112 (2023) at the Taichung Industrial Park Plastic Industry Technology Development Center (PIDC).

Group Photo
President Shinn-Liang Chang giving a speech

        The first lecture was delivered by Vice President Chia-Chang Jan of Tunghai University, on the topic "Benchmarking Sustainable University Models – Moving Towards a Road of Sustainable Development." He explained Tunghai University's approach from perspectives such as sustainability policies/university governance, environmental policies/sustainable campus, and social care/community engagement, enabling colleagues to understand how the university leverages its background, advantages, and core capabilities to establish key axes for promoting sustainability, collaborating with internal and external stakeholders, and concretely implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

        Vice President Jan first discussed promoting service learning to fulfill social responsibility, which is also Tunghai University's Labor Education 4.0 version. The university is positioned as a brand, integrating external resources to solve real-world practical problems. Throughout this process, sustainability, internationalization, and industry-academia collaboration remain constant elements, making projects integrated with university governance and implemented in teaching, research, and student counseling.

        Regarding sustainability policies/university governance, the University Social Responsibility Strategy Development Committee was established, and a campus-wide organizational structure was built through collaboration between the USR Promotion Office and the IR Office. The university development plan emphasizes economic sustainability, ecological sustainability, social sustainability, and cultural sustainability as four major goals for advancing sustainable development, following the university SDGs implementation guidelines. SDGs are progressively linked with four core areas: education, research, organizational environment, and external collaboration, with two main axes: liberal arts foundation and technology application, aligned with mid- and long-term university development. The four dimensions of sustainability are rooted in the university, gradually forming cross-disciplinary, cross-departmental, and cross-student mechanisms. Labor education allows students to make choices and establish social impact measurement indicators, ultimately achieving shared value and creating influence for both society and Tunghai University.

        For environmental policies/sustainable campus, aiming for a carbon-neutral university, multiple measures were implemented, including establishing a university tree management platform, a net-zero demonstration park, a comprehensive environmental management system, a water-circulation economy campus, and a Water Culture & Environmental Education Center:

• Green Building Certification: Using Taiwan’s EEWH evaluation system for new building certification applications.
• Water and Energy-Saving Equipment: Replacing traditional lighting with LEDs, implementing automatic energy-saving controls, and replacing taps and showerheads with water-saving certified devices to reduce energy and carbon emissions.
• Smart Campus Power Monitoring System: Digital meters collect electricity usage information to identify energy-saving targets and implement improvements.
• Cloud Smart Green Energy Management System: Collects power data from data center equipment to identify high-energy-consuming devices and improve energy efficiency.
• Power Management: Classrooms equipped with power management systems to control digital lecterns, air conditioning, and lighting for energy savings.
• Maintenance: Regular air-conditioning maintenance and filter cleaning, setting air-conditioning temperature to 26°C.
• Power Quality: Upgraded high-voltage power systems to reduce transmission losses and improve energy efficiency.
• Water Resource Recycling: Regular monitoring and management of water usage, implementing rainwater recycling, campus wastewater treatment, detention basins, and reservoirs.
• Diverse Renewable Energy (Solar, Wind, Micro-Hydro): Constructing an "active intelligent energy-saving and renewable power system" integrating solar, wind, and Taiwan Power Company grid-connected high-voltage systems; solar-powered fans assist air conditioning, wind energy used for LED lighting, micro-hydro for nighttime LED lighting.
• Drought-Resistant Plants: (omitted)
• Composting and Reuse: Environmental education includes an organic composting site.
• Tree Planting: (omitted)
• Green Low-Carbon Transportation: Electric shuttle buses and buses, complete campus walkways, EV charging stations, and school bus ride-sharing.

        For social care/community engagement, a seven-aspect framework for assisting vulnerable groups was established, with a student-led crowdfunding platform integrating USR x large-scale community projects. A high-quality elderly service support system was built with five support systems: manpower, activities, health promotion, operations, and shared meals, designed around "Active Aging"; the "Open Aging Village – Aging in Place" concept was proposed in Taichung City Xitun District. Additionally, the Dongda Creek environmental improvement project was completed through external networking and internal integration.

        In summary, Labor Education 4.0 integrates multiple sustainability aspects, cultivating students’ diverse character and practical sustainability literacy linked to SDGs, building civic attitudes and participation. Vice President Jan also highlighted achievements in economic sustainability/industrial transformation, such as the co-creation platform for sustainable impact + ESG mentoring team, and AI for SDGs industrial co-creation. He concluded: "Through establishing governance mechanisms for a sustainable university, we aspire to cultivate cross-disciplinary, diverse future talents in a university with a liberal arts foundation, innovative excellence, and a sustainable, friendly campus."

        The second lecture was delivered by Professor Chao-Tung Yang, Director of the Tunghai University Library and Director of the Electronic Computing Center, on the topic "Current Status and Future Trends of Smart Campus." He shared six main themes with colleagues: "Digital Era," "AI and AIoT Applications," "SDGs and EMS," "AR Campus Tour," "Mobile Payment," and "Smart Manufacturing Big Data Competition." The digital era is characterized as the era of "big players in the cloud," encompassing Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cloud Computing, and IoT. Taiwan has established a Ministry of Digital Development, and Taichung City has set up the Digital Governance Bureau. Government policy priorities highlight information-related issues schools should consider for future development, guiding the advancement of a smart campus. Director Yang also introduced Tunghai University's IT infrastructure and facilities, including network infrastructure, campus Wi-Fi, self-service Wi-Fi registration, smart services (Tunghai LineBot), network security architecture, administrative cloud, iLearn platform, comprehensive customer service, 3D software cloud & AI Platform, etc.

        AI and AIoT Applications: Director Yang emphasized that the combination of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and IoT (Internet of Things), AIoT, has become an inevitable trend. Tunghai University, Chunghwa Telecom, and Google have cooperated to create a Central Taiwan Cloud Talent Hub. He also introduced Tunghai University's IoT platform architecture (tIoT). SDGs and EMS: Smart campus initiatives are particularly related to SDGs Goals 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, and 15. AR Campus Tour: Using the tour to help new students become familiar with the campus; positioning systems also allow tracking of foot traffic. Mobile Payment: Through collaboration with several partner universities, various mobile payment methods were implemented, with plans to expand service coverage in the future. Smart Manufacturing Big Data Competition: Industry-academia cooperation provides real operational manufacturing data for competition use, allowing teams to analyze and cultivate talent in smart manufacturing and big data analytics. Finally, Director Yang concluded with the principle "Think of the topic, prepare the data," emphasizing: 1. Utilize resources, 2. Build a team, 3. Be brave to try, 4. Prepare thoroughly, 5. Keep innovating, 6. Seize opportunities.

        In 2019 (R.O.C. Year 108), Taiwan established 18 core sustainable development goals. Subsequent higher education development plans by the Ministry of Education also emphasized that sustainable development should align with the university’s mid- and long-term vision and objectives, in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations in 2015. Taiwan's current policies focus on a smart nation and service-oriented smart government, making smart campuses a key agenda and future trend promoted by President Shinn-Liang Chang.

        Through the explanations in this seminar, participating colleagues are expected to further recognize the need for change within the university. It is hoped that upon returning to campus, positive impacts will be generated in university administration, teaching, and student learning. The goal is to promote smart campuses, deepen local engagement, strengthen social resilience, leverage internal resources, connect with external resources, and jointly create a new chapter for National Formosa University, benefiting both the nation and society.