The 7th Global Views Monthly University Social Responsibility (USR) Awards held its award ceremony on April 9. Taiwan Tech stood out among more than 200 competing projects, winning two major awards in one sweep. Associate Professor Chia-Chun Ho of the Department of Civil and Construction Engineering and his team received the Excellence Award in the Industry Co-Creation Category for their project “Clean Water, Fragrant Tea, Shared Prosperity: A Cross-Disciplinary Blueprint for Safeguarding the Sustainability of the Feitsui Reservoir”. Meanwhile, Professor Meng-Jiy Wang of the Department of Chemical Engineering and her team won the Merit Award in the Sustainable Curriculum Category for their “Engineers in Action”. These honors recognize Taiwan Tech’s long-term commitment to environmental sustainability and talent cultivation, and demonstrate how a leading university of technology can transform professional expertise into positive social impact.
Professor Meng-Jiy Wang’s team from Taiwan Tech’s Department of Chemical Engineering received the Merit Award in the Sustainable Curriculum Category. Pictured on the right is Taiwan Tech’s Vice President Tzu-Chuan Chou.
The project that won the Excellence Award in the Industry Co-Creation Category is led by Associate Professor Chia-Chun Ho and carried out by the Smart and Resilient Water Environment Laboratory at Taiwan Tech. The project focuses on Pinglin in the Feitsui Reservoir watershed - the drinking water source for six million people in the Greater Taipei area. Addressing the tension between environmental protection and the development of the local tea industry, the Taiwan Tech team has played a key bridging role. By developing slow-release low-phosphorus fertilizers and installing vegetated retention systems (LID facilities), the team has effectively reduced phosphorus runoff from tea plantations into the reservoir, achieving an average annual carbon reduction of 500 kg per hectare.
Associate Professor Chia-Chun Ho (right) and his team were awarded the Excellence Award in the Industry Co-Creation Category for the project “Clean Water, Fragrant Tea, Shared Prosperity: A Cross-Disciplinary Blueprint for Safeguarding the Sustainability of the Feitsui Reservoir”.
In addition, the team facilitated partnerships with nine companies and Rotary Clubs to support the procurement of “low-carbon eco-friendly tea,” and established an international industry–academia research platform that has attracted experts from nine countries, including the United States, France, and Japan, to Taiwan for exchange. Professor Ho emphasized: “We are not only addressing environmental pollution; through branding and connections with corporate ESG initiatives, we are enabling farmers to gain economic benefits while protecting water resources, realizing the vision of clean water, fragrant tea, and shared prosperity.”
The “Engineers in Action”, which received the Merit Award in the Sustainable Curriculum Category, showcases Taiwan Tech’s innovative approach to sustainability education. Breaking away from traditional engineering education, the program emphasizes a human-centered perspective, encouraging students to step outside the laboratory and engage in fieldwork in rural Taiwan and overseas communities such as Indonesia and Vietnam. Since its launch in 2018, the program has trained nearly 1,000 students with interdisciplinary communication skills and international practical experience.
Co-principal investigator Associate Professor Chiu-Yen Wang from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering noted that when students face real societal needs, they must transform professional knowledge into action. From bridge repair and power system installation to improving living environments, the resilience and empathy demonstrated throughout the process are qualities that cannot be learned in the classroom. The program not only addresses local challenges but also cultivates a new generation of “action engineers” in Taiwan who possess both technical breadth and humanistic depth.
Vice President Tzu-Chuan Chou stated during the award ceremony that the core spirit of Taiwan Tech’s USR initiatives lies in “solving real-world problems.” While striving to enhance international competitiveness, Taiwan Tech also encourages faculty and students to implement research outcomes in practice. The two award-winning projects exemplify Taiwan Tech’s mature development in both “industry–environment co-prosperity” and “social responsibility education”. The university will continue to leverage its hands-on tradition in technological and vocational education, ensuring that technology becomes not just abstract data, but a driving force for sustainable social development.
At the 7th Global Views Monthly USR Awards ceremony, Taiwan Tech received both the Excellence Award in the Industry Co-Creation Category and the Merit Award in the Sustainable Curriculum Category. From left to right in the photo: Associate Professor Chiu-Yen Wang (Department of Materials Science and Engineering), student Yu-Kai Huang from the Bachelor in Global Development Engineering Program (project teaching assistant), Vice President Tzu-Chuan Chou, and Associate Professor Chia-Chun Ho (Department of Civil and Construction Engineering).
Taiwan Tech sincerely invites alumni and supporters from all sectors to contribute to the sustainable development of its USR initiatives. Every donation will help protect local sustainability, support international engagement, and nurture outstanding action engineers. Together, we can contribute to the greater good of society.
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