【News from the Office of University Social Responsibility】
NCCU’s Office of University Social Responsibility (USR) recently hosted the forum “Five Years of USR Experience: Review and Outlook.” President Li Tsai-Yen opened the event by stressing that USR projects must use academic expertise to serve society while meeting student-learning needs and supporting local communities. He noted that nurturing talent and creating knowledge are a university’s core missions; applying both for community and social development is NCCU’s USR goal and affirms the university’s value as a public good.
He added that over the past five years NCCU’s USR work has been rooted in Wenshan District and extended to Hsinchu and Changhua. Courses and services now reach rural, disadvantaged, Indigenous, migrant, and other groups. Though NCCU runs fewer USR projects than some universities, their deep grounding is producing results.
Vice President Chen Shu-Heng compared NCCU’s USR ecosystem to Major and Minor League Baseball: beyond full projects, the university runs a USR Hub and seed-project system. Local themes span young-farmer return, place studies, local revitalization, and social enterprise, while transnational themes cover Austronesian exchanges, migrant and new-resident links, and Southeast-Asian connections. Cultural engagement is another hallmark: the Lu-Ku project in Wulai remains widely admired.
As USR convener, Chen urged colleagues to translate knowledge into social energy and promised supportive reward systems. Former Huafan University provost Tsai Chuan-Hui—also a seven-year principal of Wenshan Community College—recalled how, 25 years ago in NCCU’s Admin Bldg 6A, faculty and civic leaders founded Taiwan’s first community college. He noted that long before “USR” became a buzzword, NCCU was already living its spirit of civic engagement.
The forum featured NCCU project leaders plus guests such as former NDC deputy minister Kuo Fei-Yu, Youth Development Administration director Chen Hsueh-Yu, Feitsui Reservoir Administration director Liu Hsiu-Feng, Taiwan United University System vice president Su Heng, Pingtung Elementary principal Ou Ya-Mei, and representatives from Wenshan and Xindian community colleges, Cheng Fu-Tien Foundation, Pinglin and Muzha young farmers, and social enterprises active in Daxi.
Land-Economics professor Hsu Shih-Jung, former head of NCCU’s Third-Sector Research Center, cited his revitalization work in Fuxing, Changhua: USR’s hands-on practice exposes gaps in academia’s theory-heavy approach. He applauded the forum for joining industry, government, academia, and NGOs in dialogue.
※ Forum agenda and content：
Session 1 | Review & Outlook: NCCU USR-Hub Projects
Moderator：Dean Tang Ching-Ping｜Discussant：Former NDC deputy minister Kuo Fei-Yu
1-1 Transnational Parenting Support for Indonesian Migrant Workers — Assoc. Prof. Chiu Hsuan-Yuan (Sociology)
1-2 Urban-Adjacent Satoyama: An East-Asian Model of German-Style Rural Tourism — Assoc. Prof. Tai Hsiu-Hsiung (Land Economics)
1-3 Incubating Social Enterprise along the Taipei Tea Road — Founder Chan Pei-Hsin & assistant Yang Ya-Ting
1-4 Indigenous Culture and Industry in Original Homelands — Prof. Kuan Ta-Wei (Ethnology)
Session 2 | Review & Outlook: NCCU USR Projects
Moderator：VP Chen Shu-Heng｜Discussant：Prof. Hsu Shih-Jung (Land Economics)
2-1 Enhancing K-12 Arts & Tech Literacy in Rural Schools — Dean Kuo Chao-Yu (College of Education)
2-2 “Thriving Wenshan” University–Community Partnership — Assoc. Prof. Wang Hsin-Shih (Economics)
Session 3 | Greater Wenshan Studies
Moderator：Youth Development Administration director Chen Hsueh-Yu｜Discussant：Former Huafan provost Tsai Chuan-Hui
3-1 Running Wenshan Community College — Secretary-General Fang Yu-Ju & manager Lee Chia-Yu
3-2 Operating Xindian Chong-Kwang Community College — Secretary-General Chiang Tzu-Yin
3-3 Deepening Work in Shenkeng — Exec. Dir. Chiu Hui-Chu (Cheng Fu-Tien Foundation)
3-4 “Dan-Lan Wenshan”: Media-Literacy-Led Sustainability in the Hills — Prof. Liu Hui-Wen (Journalism)
Session 4 | Youth Return & Local Revitalization
Moderator：Dean Tu Wen-Ling (College of Innovation)｜Discussant：Director Liu Hsiu-Feng (Feitsui Reservoir Admin.)
4-1 Muzha Young-Farmer Return — Vice Chair Chang En-Pei (Muzha Young Farmers’ Association)
4-2 Revitalizing Daxi — CEO Chiu Jung-Han (Together Circular Design Co.)
4-3 Three-Cats Project (Maokong Gondola, Maokong, Panda) — Chair Chiang Tsung-Hung (Taiwan Local Revitalization Federation)
4-4 Co-Creative Governance: Participatory Budgeting in Two Yunlin Villages — Assoc. Prof. Fu Kai-Jo (Public Administration)
Session 5 | Indigenous Peoples & Austronesian Links
Moderator：Vice President Su Heng (Taiwan United University System)｜Discussant：Assoc. Prof. Chen Sheng-Chih (Digital Content Program)
5-1 Austronesian International Program — Assoc. Prof. Tai Chih-Wei (Linguistics)
5-2 Taiwan–Philippines Indigenous Knowledge & Sustainability — PI Kuan Ta-Wei & assistant Lin Kuan-Chin
5-3 Austronesian Lecture Series & Digital Education in Palau — Exec. Dir. Chen Yi-Hsuan
Session 6 | New Residents, Migrant Workers & Cross-Domain Learning
Moderator：Vice President Su Heng｜Discussant：Assoc. Prof. Wang Ya-Ping (Ethnology)
6-1 Digital-Marketing Education for New Residents — Asst. Prof. Ou Tzu-Chi (College of Innovation)
6-2 Training New-Resident Language Teachers — Principal Ou Ya-Mei (Ping-Ding Elementary, New Taipei)
