“2025 Asia-Pacific and Taiwan Sustainable Action Awards” Honors NTHU with Two Golds and One Bronze

The 2025 Asia-Pacific and Taiwan Sustainable Action Awards (TSAA), organized by the Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy (TAISE), recognizes outstanding achievements in sustainability across sectors, guided by the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The awards aim to showcase Taiwan’s progress and elevate it onto the international stage.

This year, three projects from National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) stood out among 89 submissions from universities across Taiwan. At the award ceremony last weekend, NTHU’s Chief Sustainability Officer and Director of the Center for Sustainable Resilience, Dr. Lin Fu-Jen, received the awards on behalf of the university. Associate Dean of the College of Sustainability, Dr. Chou Hsiu-Chuan, as well as Director of the Underwater Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Research Center, Dr. Tsang Chen-Hua, and their teams also attended the ceremony.

Gold Award – SDG 04 Quality Education｜Safeguarding Cultural Heritage, Sustaining the Blue Ocean

In 2022, NTHU established Taiwan’s first Center for Underwater Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, bringing together government, industry, and academia to promote underwater exploration and research. This year, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the Underwater Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, the center partnered with the Bureau of Cultural Heritage to host the “2025 Day for the Protection of Shipwrecks” series of events, contributing significantly to safeguarding ocean heritage.

Gold Award – SDG 11 Sustainable Cities｜NTHU Touqian River Basin Living Circle

Focusing on “Technology × Education × Civic Engagement,” the project works to protect and revitalize the Touqian River—known as the “Mother River” of Hsinchu. By leveraging technology to enable real-time and transparent pollution monitoring, and linking high schools with universities, the initiative has produced multiple actionable results. Several outcomes have been adopted by the government as evidence-based references for river management, positioning NTHU as a leader in shaping Taiwan’s sustainable water culture.

Bronze Award – SDG 02 Zero Hunger｜USR Graduation and Local Collaboration

In collaboration with the local Taiwan Fenghezi Association, NTHU has launched activities to tell the story of the rice fields in Zhubei’s Donghaiku area. The project has built a support system for both the rice industry and local agricultural culture, while also fostering community-led development. By the end of last year, Donghaiku was officially designated as a demonstration base for advancing ESG practices in NTHU’s regional initiatives.