Promoting Innovative Ideas and Driving Talent Development: Inauguration of the Office of Future NTU Initiatives at National Taiwan University

To execute the Ministry of Education’s "National Taiwan University Future NTU Project (Pioneering the Future)," National Taiwan University (NTU) held the inauguration ceremony for the "Office of Future NTU Initiatives" on September 15^th. Minister of Education Wen-Chung Pan attended the ceremony, along with Meihui LIU, Vice President for Academic Affairs at National Taiwan Normal University, and J.C. Liu, Vice-President of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology.

Following the establishment of the initiative office, it will internally promote the spirit of the future university, implementing the concept of a "learner-centered open university." Externally, through forums and workshops, it will propagate the concept of the future university to various universities and colleges in Taiwan, fostering discussions in Taiwan’s higher education sector regarding future talent cultivation.

In his speech, Minister Pan emphasized that higher education is critical for nurturing future talents in the country. He expressed his hope that NTU, building upon its past efforts in promoting the Future University Initiatives, will design and test forward-looking educational programs. These programs should not only align with international standards but also leverage Taiwan’s strengths to cultivate world-class talents. Furthermore, he looked forward to NTU maintaining an attitude of truth-seeking and promoting the ideas and achievements of the Future University Initiative. This cooperation with universities across Taiwan will drive innovation in higher education, making NTU’s Future University Initiatives a source of vitality for Taiwan’s future universities.

NTU President Wen-Chang Chen, in his speech, mentioned that NTU initiated the Future University Initiatives since 2019 under the leadership of former President Chung-Ming Kuan. It broke down the boundaries of academic departments and proposed a "learner-centered open university" as its primary strategic direction. Students can understand the core curricula of all departments across the university based on their field of expertise, and then, according to their aspirations, flexibly use various systems to create unique learning paths. In 2028, NTU will celebrate its first centenary, and President Chen hopes that the Future University Initiatives will be able to unite the consensus of the entire university to outline the educational vision for NTU’s next century.

NTU’s Vice President for Academic Affairs and Director of the initiative office, Hong-Jen Wang, introduced the "Future University Promotion Base." The initiative office combines NTU’s Center for General Education, Center for Teaching and Learning Development, Digital Learning Center, and Academic Advising Office as essential foundations for further advancing the Future University Initiatives. NTU’s team presented critical projects on-site, including College-level and University-level Interdisciplinary Bachelor’s Programs, Trans-disciplinary Bachelor Degree Program, Specialization Program, NTU AR (Alumni Return & Recharge), Future Classroom, and NTU Academic Advising Office.

Additionally, to help domestic universities understand the concept and practical approaches of the Future University Initiatives, "NTU Future University Forum" will host its inaugural lecture on October 1^st. The theme will revolve around "Higher Education Curriculum Reform," inviting experts and scholars from both domestic and international institutions to share their experiences in curriculum reform and innovative practices in talent development. All universities and colleges in Taiwan are welcome to attend and engage in discussions.