On November 27^th, NPUST hosted the First International Sustainable Development Conference (ISDC 2020). The grand affair, which coincided with the university’s 96^th anniversary celebration, brought together distinguished representatives from government, business and academia to explore “Our Common Future”.

On November 2^nd (2020), NPUST was pleased to receive a joint visit from the Liaison Office of South Africa (LOSA) and the Taiwan-Africa Business Association (TABA).

 

From October 12th to 15th (2020), the University of Indonesia “GreenMetric University Ranking Workshop” brought together members from around the world to discuss sustainability and the future of the organization. Unlike in the past, this year’s annual workshop was not hosted on the campus of a member university – but went virtual instead. Over 600 members from 47 countries joined the grand online event, which was co-hosted by University of Zanjan.

On September 1st, a second online pre-conference meeting was held to continue with preparations for two important upcoming events set for the end of November: the International Sustainable Development Conference (ISDC 2020) and the signing ceremony for the landmark agreement to establish the International Education and Research Center (IERC). The two events will take place back-to-back at the NPUST Campus on Nov. 27~28 for those who can travel, and in the cyber-world for those who cannot.

The fourth edition of the Hunt Taiwan series brought together a group of 32 students to explore the concept of “placemaking” (aka, “local revitalization”). The international assembly consisted of students from Taiwan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, India and Mongolia— all of whom were ready get a glimpse of some of the ideas that are currently moving forward placemaking trends in Taiwan.

NPUST students from Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Guatemala boarded a bus on July 24th for the third round in the Hunt Taiwan series—destination: Kenting! Travelling south, the students took in the beautiful ocean-side landscape of the Pingtung Peninsula as they made their way to the Kenting National Forest Recreation Area, the first destination of the day.

With the begging of school approaching and summer coming to a close, on August 20th the Hunt Taiwan series also neared completion with its second-to-last activity—the Minnan and Hakka cultural tour. Students from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and England signed up for the outing, which took them to the nearby scenic and culturally-rich areas of Meinong, Qishan and Tianliao.

For part six of the Hunt Taiwan series, 36 of NPUST’s international students went together to witness some of the magnificent equipment that was used to defend the freedom of the Republic in generations past. Embarking for the day, the course was set first for Tainan where the students from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Solomon Islands, Malawi, Palau, and Mongolia got an inside-look at one of Taiwan’s retired navy destroyers.

Brought to the students of NPUST by the Office of International Affairs, the “Hunt Taiwan” summer spectacular has already concluded its fifth event – “The Extreme Challenge”. For this activity students from Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, and Taiwan were sent off to an eco-farm in Chiayi to take part in a series of outdoor adventures.

The first International Sustainable Development Conference (ISDC 2020) will be held at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) from November 27 to 28, 2020. Sustainable development is a topic which NPUST has given much focus to over the years, with the results of its efforts made evident by certain important indicators. For instance, each year for the past six years, NPUST has ranked first in Taiwan on the UI GreenMetric Ranking. 

In an active effort to promote international exchange and cooperation, on December 13th, 2012, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) brought together presidents of universities throughout Southeast Asia for a meeting that resulted in the joint launching of the University Network of Tropical Agriculture (UNTA). This year, faced with Covid travel restrictions, NPUST, the network’s permanent secretary, hosted an online conference to enabled important exchange and fruitful dialogue between UNTA members.

Due to the impacts of Covid-19, many international students at NPUST are choosing to remain in Taiwan over the summer break. On such a rare occasion, everyone is very excited about taking the opportunity to experience the beauty of Taiwan.

For the second installment of the Hunt Taiwan summer series, 40 of NPUST’s international students ventured north to visit the Hakka Village in Miaoli, the old market street of Lukang, and the “Experience Hakka” village in Dongshi, Taichung.

In 2012, NPUST began taking part in the Universitas Indonesia(UI) UI GreenMetric World University Ranking and by 2014 it began a six year winning streak, coming first in Taiwan every following year. As part of its commitment to the Green University project, in 2019, NPUST President Chang-Hsien Tai and Office of International Affairs Dean Pomin Li made arrangments to travel in person to Ireland to take part in the 5th International Workshop on UI GreenMetric World University Rankings (IWGM).

With countries around the world in lock-down mode on account of the epidemic, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) has taken student recruitment activities to cyberspace for a “first-of-a-kind” event.

Currently, with 622 international students from 43 different countries calling NPUST “home”, the university’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) is always looking to create new opportunities for students from abroad to interact and develop closer relationships with locals.

On February 25, Cheers magazine presented the results of the 2020 “Top 20 University Performance Growth Evaluation” and NPUST came 19th, nation-wide. A total of 148 university presidents across the country were invited to be part of the survey, with 129 accepting the call.

International and local students were recently given the opportunity to bolster their language skills, build relationships with new people and broaden their knowledge on Taiwan’s rich cultural heritage through the “Your Tracks in Taiwan: Explore Tainan City” interactive activity.

With 700 international students from 46 countries on the rosters, students at NPUST often find themselves with new opportunities to enjoy diverse cultural activities hosted on the university campus. Once such activity, which took place on December 13th (‘19), was the Nepali International Festival— an event organized by a group of students from Nepal who wanted to present their teachers and fellow students with some of the rich cultural attributes of their home country.