NTHU Partners with Five High Schools to Form an Action Alliance to Protect the Touqian River

The Touqian River, often referred to as the “Mother River” of Hsinchu, provides drinking water for 750,000 people. Today, National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) joined hands with five high schools and vocational schools from Hsinchu County and City to launch the “Greater Hsinchu Watershed School Action Alliance.” Guided by the principle of “one school, one stream,” the alliance aims to nurture a new generation of local-conscious and action-oriented youth through curriculum design, teacher training, and student-led practical projects.

The five participating schools—Jhubei Senior High School, Hsinchu Commercial Vocational High School, Hsinchu Senior High School, Jianguo High School, and Shu Guang Girls' High School—are all located along the Touqian River watershed. Each school was represented by its principal or a delegate at today’s founding ceremony.

Professor Hsiu-Chuan Chou from NTHU’s Institute of Environmental Engineering, the initiator of the alliance, emphasized that education is the key to societal transformation. NTHU faculty and students are not only offering general education courses on sustainability within the university but also extending sustainable education to high schools by co-developing hands-on curricula. “We hope each school will develop a relationship with its local stream and use education to protect our rivers,” Professor Chou said. She also noted that today marks the beginning of NTHU’s “Greater Hsinchu Watershed School” initiative, which aspires to develop an environmental education model that inspires students to understand their locale, engage in protection efforts, and take action.

NTHU will support alliance schools by offering guest lectures, teacher training workshops, and grants for curriculum development, helping schools design educational content tailored to the characteristics of their local water systems.

Vice President Nien-Hwa Tai remarked that the alliance represents a significant step in sustainability education. By involving senior high schools and vocational schools, the initiative helps embed the concepts of sustainable development and environmental protection into early education. “We hope this will inspire students to explore both social and technological issues that will shape their future lives,” he said.

Deputy Director-General Chien-Cheng Chen of the Water Resources Agency under the Ministry of Economic Affairs also attended the event and commended the initiative for its contribution to watershed governance. He emphasized that with the growing impacts of climate change—droughts and typhoons in particular—Taiwan must approach river management with a more forward-looking and systemic mindset. “Flood control alone is not enough. We must integrate water culture, landscape, and local participation through cross-sectoral collaboration to create a better water environment,” he said.

Principal Wen-Ke Chan of Jhubei Senior High School shared that his school previously partnered with NTHU to offer courses on water quality monitoring and watershed science. Joining the alliance provides an opportunity to build on those foundations in a more systematic way. He believes that high school education should go beyond textbooks and tests, and instead focus on cultivating problem-solving skills and community engagement. Future curricula will guide students to begin with understanding watershed geography, progress toward field research and experimentation, and finally develop public advocacy skills—such as presenting their ideas at community meetings or temple events. He also proposed organizing themed competitions, such as coding challenges, to foster cross-disciplinary thinking and action-oriented learning.

Principal Chen-Hsiang Kuo of Hsinchu Senior High School emphasized that joining the alliance is not just about environmental education—it’s about reconnecting students to their land and instilling a sense of responsibility. “The Tingpu Canal runs through our campus. Understanding that waterway is part of understanding the place where we live,” she said. Acknowledging the academic pressures faced by students, Principal Kuo highlighted the need for professional external support to promote river-related education. She hopes that through partnership with NTHU, environmental education can be integrated into everyday learning, enabling students to transform knowledge into action and recognize their own power to improve the world around them.

Since 2021, NTHU has been implementing the Touqian River Watershed Protection Project and last year established the “NTHU Sustainability Hub” for the watershed. Key contributors include Prof. Hsiu-Chuan Chou, Prof. Hung-Lin Chan from the Department of Biomedical Science and Environmental Biology, and Distinguished Professor Jui-An Dong from the Institute of Environmental Engineering, who are researching the impact of river sediment and water pollution on human cellular health. Prof. Neng-Fu Huang (Computer Science) and Prof. Shun-Chi Wu (Engineering) are developing AI imaging and smart alert systems to detect pollutants.

In addition to cutting-edge technology, Prof. Chao-Jen Chang from the Department of Quantitative Finance is promoting sustainable river initiatives from a green finance perspective, engaging local groups, trust foundations, and enterprises. Project co-leads Prof. Chun-Ming Chen and Prof. Meng-Lun Kuo (College of Technology Management) have designed general education courses to encourage cross-disciplinary students to propose innovative and feasible solutions.

Today's event also featured the release of the latest research on river sediment toxicity and biohazards, as well as a demonstration of the AI waste recognition system. Representatives from Tunghai University and National Cheng Kung University shared their university social responsibility (USR) watershed projects. Partners such as the United Daily News Cultural Foundation, Taiwan Clean Water Action Alliance, and the Society of Wilderness also joined the discussion.

[2025.06.06 | Office of the Secretariat, National Tsing Hua University]