Since the Ministry of Education launched the University Social Responsibility (USR) program in 2018, universities and local projects have continuously flourished over the past five years. "CommonWealth Magazine" has been presenting the University Social Responsibility Award since 2020, with the same goal of expecting universities to step out of the campus and enter the local communities, bringing more vitality and sustainable talent to Taiwan.

In the fourth edition of the CommonWealth Magazine University Social Responsibility Award in 2023, there were 120 entries competing for seven awards in total, including "Eco-Coexistence," "Local Integration," "Industrial Co-creation," "Welfare Coexistence," "Talent Co-learning," and a new category "Green Campus." The comprehensive performance category has been changed to "University Sustainability Report" this year. Who will win the first prize and who will be the dark horse?

"CommonWealth Magazine" has also found that over the years, through sustainable programs, universities have stepped out of academic halls and developed symbiotic and prosperous programs with local communities. These programs have matured from a fledgling stage to a mature stage, bringing more vitality and sustainable talent to Taiwan.

In this year's fourth edition of the award, there were 120 entries, competing for seven major awards and 16 model awards.

Now, the fourth "CommonWealth Magazine" University Social Responsibility Awards for 2023 have been announced! There were a total of 120 entries competing for seven awards, and 26 judges evaluated 47 shortlisted entries. In the end, seven first prizes and 16 model awards were presented.

Outstanding programs were divided into six categories, including "Eco-Coexistence," "Green Campus," "Local Integration," "Industrial Co-creation," "Welfare Coexistence," and "Talent Co-learning." It is worth mentioning that this year, the comprehensive performance category has been changed to "University Sustainability Report," and a new "Green Campus" category has been added.

The "University Sustainability Report" comprehensively examines a university's sustainable strategy, vision, planning, execution, and results. Any school that has published a university sustainability report can participate. The new "Green Campus" category is designed to emphasize how each university can pursue a green campus in the trend of zero carbon emissions by 2050.

National Cheng Kung University won the first prize in both the "Local Integration" and "Welfare Coexistence" categories, becoming the biggest winner for two consecutive years. National Taiwan Ocean University also won the first prize in the "Eco-Coexistence" category, and also won model awards in the "Talent Co-learning" and "Local Integration" categories. National Tsing Hua University won three model awards in the "University Sustainability Report," "Eco-Coexistence," and "Welfare Coexistence" categories.

Looking at the seven first prizes, national universities won six awards, highlighting that national universities have an advantage in project funding and a larger average project scale than private universities.

Among the winners was Dong Hwa University, the only private university to receive the top prize, which was for their "Sustainable Campus Report". The judges praised the university's proactive response to concerns about labor education from students and the community, as well as their insistence on their own distinctive approach to sustainability. This demonstrates that as long as universities leverage their unique characteristics and combine them with sustainable indicators, they can achieve a lot without requiring a large budget.

National Pingtung University of Science and Technology received the "Green Campus" award, not only because of the university's natural advantage in owning a forest, but also due to their active efforts in developing and maintaining a green campus, which other schools can emulate. National Taiwan Ocean University won the "Ecological Coexistence" award, with the majority of the judges praising their use of their expertise to respond to Taiwan's marine resource and education problems.

National Cheng Kung University received the "Local Coexistence" award, with the judges praising their active efforts to help Matsu Island through various small and large-scale projects that focused on translating local culture and recreating local spaces. NCKU also won the "Welfare Coexistence" award, with the judges giving high praise to their profound and moving content on palliative care.

National Formosa University won the "Industry Co-creation" award, with the judges recognizing their use of their expertise to assist farmers in considering the overall development of upstream and downstream industries. National Taiwan University won the "Talent Co-learning" award, with the judges praising the university's efforts to link and utilize the expertise of their teachers throughout the school.

In summary, the judges highlighted three key areas for this year's USR Awards:

"addressing local issues" "student involvement" and "showcasing the university's unique characteristics".

Based on the overall evaluation of the judging panel, the following three key observations have been made for this year's University Social Responsibility (USR) program:

For local communities: Whether or not the program addresses the overall needs of the community.

The Ministry of Education has been promoting the five-year USR program for universities, which has gradually improved the past situation of universities simply providing services to local communities. However, the question remains whether the various sustainability plans truly meet the sustainability indicators and whether they truly address the needs and pain points of local communities. If universities only execute projects in local communities without deeply connecting and engaging with local residents, it will be difficult to truly solve the needs of local communities and make them the main focus of the program.

2.For students: Curriculum as the main axis, cultivating "local talent" through deep engagement.

The participation of sustainable talent cannot be ignored in promoting various sustainability plans. In the future development of USR for universities, it is necessary to focus on long-term plans to cultivate local talent.

This is also the most difficult aspect of sustainability for universities: students graduate every four years. Therefore, the depth of student participation in sustainability programs is often insufficient. Universities need to try to guide students or local residents through curricula or other means to cultivate sustainable talent that can be used by local communities.

3.For universities and teachers: Regardless of size, leveraging unique characteristics and passion.

National and private universities have different inherent resources, but the amount of resources is not the key to whether or not they are awarded the first prize. Certainly, with huge resource inputs, the scope of what can be accomplished is larger, but it is also easier to lose focus and make it seem like the success of large-scale projects is "taken for granted."

Therefore, the real key is whether the project has the participation of the entire school, and whether it can intelligently use the unique characteristics and expertise of the school to solve problems, and whether the teachers participating in the project have enthusiasm for the project.

Take Chang Jung Christian University, which won the Model Award in the "University Sustainability Report," for example. Although the university is not large in scale or budget, the judging panel was deeply moved by the content of the university president's report.

"They said that the Erren River changed the university, allowing us to have an impact and see the future." The judges stated that Chang Jung Christian University started from its surroundings and returned to the essence of education. In the report, they also included primary, junior high, and high school students, as well as community residents and university students, making the university a true community center with a people-oriented approach.

This is exactly in line with the spirit of the "Visionary USR Award," which recognizes outstanding programs and encourages all universities to become centers of their communities, stepping out of campus to promote sustainability and cultivate talent, and exerting positive influence. This not only enhances their own abilities, but also enhances the community and achieves a vision of co-creation, coexistence, and common good.