NTU launches the “Taiwan University Alliance for Sustainable Governance” with eight other public universities from around Taiwan to share information on sustainable governance and shoulder the university social responsibility for sustainable development together.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” In response to the in-depth discussions on issues related to human survival at the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), the higher education community in Taiwan is brainstorming how to work cooperatively to advance sustainable development. To this end, a total of 9 public universities, including National Taiwan University, National Taiwan Normal University, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, National Central University, National Chung Hsing University, National Sun Yat-sen University, National Taiwan Ocean University, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, and National Dong Hwa University established the “Taiwan University Alliance for Sustainable Governance” in late 2022 to actively shoulder the university social responsibility for sustainable development together.
The Taiwan University Alliance for Sustainable Governance has nine major missions:
1. Establish a network for the exchange of ideas on sustainable governance;
2. Set up a dedicated unit for sustainable development;
3. Inventory and solve existing problems in campus governance;
4. Set goals for low carbon transformation, climate resilience and adaptation;
5. Facilitate inter-university collaboration in teaching;
6. Facilitate inter-university collaboration in research;
7. Encourage interactions among universities and local organizations, non-governmental organizations and the private sector;
8. Encourage faculty and students to launch initiatives and develop innovative solutions for sustainability;
9. Broaden the horizon on international sustainability issues.
Professor Chung-Ming Kuan, then NTU President, affirmed that universities are places where talents gather to maximize R&D capacity. Therefore, universities should take the initiative to undertake sustainable development and assume the role of transforming, changing, and leading the society. Besides promoting sustainable campus governance and optimizing campus resource management, universities should expand their social influence based on their teaching, research, and service capabilities.
Professor Gen-Shuh Wang, the then Secretary-General, explained that NTU ranked 37th in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings in 2022 and 69th in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2023. These rankings are not only the best in Taiwan but also the third best in East Asia. These honors are a recognition of all the efforts of the NTU community members who have long dedicated themselves to the field of sustainable development. NTU is stepping up as the leader of these nine public universities all around Taiwan to harness their wealth of knowledge and expertise to exert social influence, in their cooperative effort to create a sustainable future in Taiwan.
Leaders of nine national universities support building university social responsibility for sustainable development. From left to right: President Chin-Lung Chang of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Senior Vice President Chih-Wen Kuo of National Sun Yat-sen University, Director Chun-Liang Lin of Office of University Social Responsibility, National Chung Hsing University, President Jing-Yang Jou of National Central University, Then President Chung-Ming Kuan of NTU, President Cheng-Chih Wu of National Taiwan Normal University, Vice President J.C. Liu of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, President Tai-Wen Hsu of National Taiwan Ocean University and President Han-Chieh Chao of National Dong Hwa University.
The nine universities showcase the highlights and share their experience in promoting university social responsibility for sustainable governance.
uCup was adopted for the occasion, reducing carbon emission by 30 grams each time it is used. This service is created by NTU students. Reusable cups are delivered to the stores so that consumers can easily replace disposable cups. The cup can then be returned to any store in the uCup network.
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sustainable service.
