With a view to realizing our core mission of fostering social practice through education and research and fulfilling university social responsibility, we have formed a Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development Promotion Committee. Social responsibility goals, corresponding SDGs, and strategy directions are identified in close cooperation with CSU administrative offices. We are actively committed to providing solutions to local problems affecting Taoyuan, Qishan, and Linyuan districts in Kaohsiung City and Xinpi Township in Pingtung County. In addition, we engage in regular tracking of goal achievement status and plan improvements. With a view to facilitating the effective training of on-campus teams, we established our USR Hub in 2019. In the period from 2018 to 2021, we invested a total of NT$ 70 million to provide each of these teams with an arena for interactions and mutual learning. In the future, we will persist in our efforts to encourage our faculty members to incorporate USR into their courses, research and inventions, and industry-academia collaboration projects. The goal lies in the identification of local needs, the provision of solutions to identified problems, and motivating students to engage in regional development and put acquired knowledge into practice in the course of their studies.

USR Project Implementation Results and Guidance Mechanism

We divide the project into the following three stages based on the scope of involved fields and issues: 1st “Seedbed” Stage, 2nd “Sowing” Stage, and 3rd “Germination” Stage Performance management and appraisal and budget review are carried out by the Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development Office with regard to the project execution results with the goal of facilitating upgrade applications in the following year based on annual results. The project execution mechanism and description of key results are as follows:

Key Projects in Academic Year of 2021

Brief Description of the Four Major “Germination” Projects 

“Banana Pride” – Model Creativity & Cooperative Production Project in Qishan

　　The Qishan region has been facing an adverse situation characterized by a mass exodus of young residents, livelihood struggles of small farmers, lack of innovative farming techniques, and a shortage of child and elderly care systems. This situation requires early intervention in the field of education and injection of resources in the industry, community care, and employment opportunity dimensions with the goal of building an environment conducive to enticing young people to return to their hometowns.

• Synergistic manpower enhancement by young and old
• Building of child and elderly care systems
• Community cooperatives for the common good

• The establishment of a non-profit “29 Agricultural Cooperative” in the Qishan Sugar Agricultural & Creative Park in cooperation with the Urban Development Bureau of Kaohsiung City Government has been paired with the promotion of “Qishan Learning” talent cultivation concepts to enlist small local farmers for the creation of a non-profit space for exhibition and sale of local produce.

• A “Spoonbill Youth Team” has been formed to motivate students to consult and learn from local craftsmen to facilitate the development of innovative community work projects.

• Child and elderly care systems are built to provide care for underprivileged and marginal families, In addition, elderly manpower is activated, a community micro-economy is created, and earnings are given back to communities to finance care services.

Mysterious Mountain Paradise – Industry Upgrades and Brand Value Practice Project in Remote Areas

 　　Core issues in Taoyuan District in Kaohsiung City, one of the implementation regions of the project, include: Production and marketing difficulties affecting agricultural specialty products, farming village development, cultural heritage and identity, and public community engagement. Product value enhancement and brand marketing guidance are implemented by harnessing local civic organizations and products with local characteristics.

• Industry guidance and reforms
• Industry innovation and marketing
• Sustainable industry operations

• A Tourist Center & Aiyu Jelly Story House has been established in cooperation with Taoyuan district Office and the Fuxing Village Production & Marketing Team to facilitate the organization of marketing activities for agricultural products. The “Fuxing Academy” in this center serves as a venue for students to engage in diversified learning.

• Assistance has been provided to Guanji Agricultural Firm (Masudala Workshop) in the creation of an Interactive Platform for Agricultural Specialty Products & Traditional Craftsmanship in cooperation with members of Bunun and Hla’alua tribal communities. Product packaging design is inspired by traditional indigenous craftsmanship concepts.　　

Xinpi Under Scrutiny – Project for Creation of a University for Social Responsibility Learning in Xinpi to Facilitate Local Industry Upgrades

　　The exodus of young people from Xinpi Township has been particularly serious. Primary industries such as farming and animal husbandry which represent the main source of livelihood have been stagnating in recent years. With a view to raising farmer revenues and agricultural product values, farmers’ markets have been organized and online marketing and blockchain technologies have been adopted to reinforce production status tracking or real traceability to ensure product quality.

• Agricultural product value addition, brand marketing
• Promotion of the leisure and tourism industry in Xinpi
• Youth entrepreneurship and culinary industry in Xinpi

• An online marketing channel has been created in cooperation with the Xinpi Agricultural Cooperative. Students and faculty of the Department of Food & Beverage Management provide assistance to small local farmers in the development of local specialty products, gift boxes, and beverages (e.g., use of local produce such as dragon fruit as food ingredients and design of specialty products such as “Phoenix Cake”). This also involves ongoing marketing and sales efforts after commercialization through industry-academia collaboration with Hwajen Food.

• After an on-site visit to Amida Elf Valley Tea Tree Garden by CSU students and faculty members in the context of USR courses, participants not only helped improve the meal quality and visitor flow but also harnessed their creativity for the design of elf figures and the organization of cosplay activities to boost local creativity and vitality.

Food Safety and Senior Health – Partnering Up to Create a New LOHAS Linyuan

　　As the heartland of the rise of the chemical industry in Taiwan, Linyuan has a negative image due to constant ESH-related incidents and as a major source of environmental pollution. In the context of the USR Project, testing and analysis of agricultural and fishery products, aquaculture environments, and heavy metal pollution have been carried out in Linyuan and food safety education efforts have been stepped up. In addition, an environment conducive to health promoting activities and friendly learning for seniors in local communities has been built to make up for the lack of community care stations.

• Food safety and environmental education at the grassroots level
• Promotion and marketing of agricultural and fishery products to activate local industries
• Strengthening of community care station functions
• Recruitment and empowerment of young and senior volunteers

• Assistance is provided to agricultural and fishery producers in the reinforcement of testing and analysis of banned drugs such as malachite green and nitrofurans as well as heavy metals in the environment.

• The Taiwan Dream Project, which aims to provide long-term companionship for children and teenagers in communities at the grassroots level, has been officially adopted by CSU for Wenxian Community. This involves assistance in the planning of projects and organization of activities by students and faculty members. In addition, international CSU students engage in marine education-themed exchanges conducted in English.