Amid intensifying climate impacts and growing geopolitical complexity, universities must respond not only through education and research, but also by leading social transformation across three fronts: everyday practice, institutional design, and culture building.

Over the past year, we advanced campus sustainability around the pillars of “behavior change × campus governance × social engagement.” We expanded Sustainability Week and Car-Free Campus Day, weaving energy saving and carbon reduction into daily commuting choices. We completed our first organization-wide greenhouse-gas inventory and secured third-party verification, establishing a scientific baseline for our 2050 net-zero pathway. 

The Ministry of Environment’s 2024 Green Talent Employment Trend Report (Note 2) indicated that more than 3,600 companies posted related openings over the year, averaging 22,000 vacancies per month, with demand approaching that for AI. To meet the industry’s urgent demand for green talent, we are embedding sustainability literacy across all colleges. In parallel, the Community & Peer Education Center has launched a micro-credential in Net-Zero Emissions and a micro-credential in Sustainability Leadership. These programs strengthen student competencies in carbon accounting, circular economy, sustainability governance, and stakeholder engagement, helping young people connect future careers with everyday practice.

In terms of University Social Responsibility (USR), we have cultivated more than 20 USR, USR-Hub, and SDG action projects. Faculty and students brought expertise in medicine, engineering, information science, and the humanities and social sciences into local communities, transforming knowledge into public value. At this decisive moment, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University will answer the call of the times with steadfast execution and cross-sector collaboration: co-designing and implementing net-zero pathways with government agencies; co-creating low-carbon technologies and site-based solutions with industry; and sharing knowledge and cultivating talent with international academic partners. We invite all faculty, students, alumni, and social partners to stand with us so that every teaching, research, and administrative decision is a choice made responsibly for the planet and for future generations.

Thanks to the commitment of our colleagues and students, the university rose to 41st globally in the 2025 THE Impact Rankings, and received multiple domestic sustainability awards—evidence that our governance direction and the intensity of our actions are on the right track.