The awards ceremony for the "2025 Asia-Pacific and Taiwan Sustainable Action Awards" was held on 9/11 (Thursday). National Formosa University received a total of 13 awards, making it the top-winning college or university nationwide. NFU won 1 Gold, 2 Silver, and 2 Bronze in the "Asia-Pacific Sustainable Action Award" category, and also earned 2 Gold, 1 Silver, and 5 Bronze in the "Taiwan Sustainable Action Award" category. The award-winning projects spanned AI technology, industrial value-added development, low-carbon transformation, circular economy, cultural preservation, and ecological conservation, showcasing outstanding cross-disciplinary collaboration. NFU Vice President Chen Ta-Cheng accepted the awards on behalf of the university.
The Gold Award in the "SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy" category of the Asia-Pacific Sustainable Action Award was won by a team led by Professor and Vice President Chen Ta-Cheng of NFU's Department of Information Management, for the "Yunlin County Energy-Saving Partnership Governance and Promotion Program."
The program introduced a smart electricity monitoring system to help households and business districts identify high-energy-consuming equipment and improve electricity usage habits. Over three years, the program has engaged more than 65 households and over 600 businesses, achieving approximately 210,000 kWh in energy savings in 2024 alone, successfully reducing electricity costs and advancing sustainable urban development.
NFU also achieved outstanding results in the Asia-Pacific Sustainable Action Award categories of "SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being," "SDG 4: Quality Education," and "SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation," winning 2 Silver and 2 Bronze awards.
One Silver Award went to a team led by Assistant Professor Wang Wen-Cheng of NFU's Office of Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility, for "Algae Cycle: Sustainable Wastewater Recovery and Resource Utilization at Livestock Farms," which introduced localized microalgae technology to treat livestock wastewater, building a waste-reduction circular economy for livestock farming. The other Silver Award went to a team led by Associate Professor Lin Chung-Yen of the Department of Aircraft Engineering, for the "Lifesaving Express: Seizing the Golden Hour" project, which uses innovative vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) drone technology to address the shortage of emergency medical resources in remote areas.
In addition, a team led by Professor Lin Chia-Hua of the Department of Biotechnology advanced the "Blossoming Carbon Reduction — Yunlin Flower Industry's Sustainable Transformation and Green Talent Cultivation" project, completing Yunlin's first carbon inventory for flower greenhouses, combining smart sensing, environmental education, and Chestnut Tiger Butterfly conservation to create a demonstration model for local low-carbon transformation. A team led by Associate Professor Li Meng-Hua of the Department of Industrial Management, who chairs the "Metal Industry Low-Carbon Alliance," has helped 34 companies implement carbon monitoring, increasing carbon reduction by 45% and boosting technology transfer revenue by 180%. Both teams received Bronze Awards in recognition of their achievements.
In the Taiwan Sustainable Action Award, NFU also demonstrated outstanding results across SDG indicators related to "quality education, clean water and energy, oceans, industry, sustainable cities and communities, and responsible consumption and production."
The Gold Award went to a team led by Associate Professor Chiang Pei-Lun of the Department of Biotechnology, for the "Livestock Wastewater Microalgae Regeneration and Value-Added Utilization" initiative, which improves rural water quality and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, demonstrating a model of agricultural circular economy. A team led by Professor Chou Jung-Yuan of the Department of Mechanical Design Engineering also won a Gold Award for advancing "Smart Technology for Sustainable Mushroom Cultivation," developing a fully automated mushroom cultivation bag production machine and pioneering an AIoT smart mushroom inspection system, driving digital transformation for the mushroom industry.
The Silver Award was won by a team led by Assistant Professor Yen Pin-Feng of the Office of Sustainable Development, for the "Local Integration of the Sugar Industry Cultural Route" project, which revitalizes Taiwan's sugar industry culture through education, tourism, and community participation, boosting the local economy and offering a sustainable development model for sugar mills across Taiwan.
Five additional NFU teams received Bronze Awards: a team led by Associate Professor Hsieh Shu-Hui of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, for "Carbon Fiber Batteries Illuminating Rural Fields"; a team led by Professor Hsu Kun-Ming of the Department of Mechanical and Computer-Aided Engineering, for "Revitalizing Dounan's Warehouse Cluster"; a team led by Professor Hsiao Chun-Ching of the Department of Mechanical Design Engineering, for "Adaptive Automated Processing of Bamboo Toothbrush Handles"; a team led by Distinguished Professor Sung Chao-Tsung of the Department of Aircraft Engineering, for "NFU Drones Protecting the Pink Dolphins"; and a team led by Lin Cheng-Min, Executive Director of the Office of Sustainable Development, for "From Co-Learning and Growth to Mutual Thriving in Production, Life, and Ecology."
NFU President Chang Hsin-Liang stated that these awards reflect the university's achievements in integrating "professional teaching, USR mechanisms, and local practice" as a unified whole. He noted that since establishing its Office of Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility, NFU has continuously promoted social responsibility practice courses and cross-disciplinary collaboration, cultivating young faculty and students to jointly identify and address social issues.
Chang emphasized that going forward, NFU will continue to center its efforts on the SDGs, deepening cross-disciplinary research, promoting cultural transformation and net-zero initiatives, and encouraging young talent to exercise their influence and initiative in social responsibility, working hand in hand with local communities to build a sustainable future together.
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NFU wins 13 honors at the 2025 Asia-Pacific and Taiwan Sustainable Action Awards, with Vice President Chen Ta-Cheng (center) accepting the awards on behalf of the university. |
NFU's outstanding sustainability achievements encourage young people to work hand in hand with local communities to build a sustainable future. |