National Cheng Kung University

National Cheng Kung University (NCKU; Template:Lang-zh) is a public research university in the East District of Tainan, Taiwan. Founded in 1931 during Japanese rule as a technical and engineering college, the university is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Taiwan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The university is organized into nine colleges, where most students are enrolled primarily in engineering, science, medicine, and design programs. The university is a founding member of the Taiwan Comprehensive University System, a strategic alliance of four leading research universities in the Southern Taiwan. The university is also a member of AACSB and IEET, and the only member from Taiwan in the Worldwide Universities Network. Its main campus in Tainan houses the National Cheng Kung University Hospital and the National Cheng Kung University Museum.

In 2005, NCKU was chosen by the Ministry of Education as one of the seven universities in Taiwan for the Aim for the Top University Project (Template:Lang), which is similar to Top Global University Project in Japan and Universities of Excellence in Germany. Starting from 2006, because of its academic performance and research potential, the Ministry of Education (Taiwan) has offered NCKU NT$1.7 billion annually for five consecutive years, which is the second highest amount received among the universities in the project.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

History

National Cheng Kung University was originally established under Japanese colonial government in January 1931 as the Tainan Technical College. After the Japanese handover of Taiwan in October 1945, the school was renamed Taiwan Provincial Tainan Junior College of Technology in March 1946, and then to Taiwan Provincial College of Engineering in October the same year.

When the Republic of China government moved to Taiwan in 1949, it was one of the three existing colleges in Taiwan. As the number of colleges expanded, it was upgraded to a provincial university in 1956 as Provincial Cheng Kung University,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> named after Koxinga, a Southern Ming military general who drove the Dutch East India Company from Taiwan and founded the Kingdom of Tungning. In 1971, the university became a national university and was renamed National Cheng Kung University.Template:Citation needed

Former Minister for Education Wu Jin served as the first president of the new National Cheng Kung University.<ref name=cp>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:NCKU College of Engineering buildings 01.jpg

College of Engineering

Campuses

NCKU is located in Tainan City, Taiwan. The main campus is situated across from the Tainan Railway Station, offering convenient transportation. NCKU has 11 campuses occupying a total of 187 hectares of land in the greater Tainan area, including the Cheng-Kung, Sheng-Li, Kuang-Fu, Cheng-Hsing, Tzu-Chiang, Ching-Yeh, Li-Hsing, Tung-Ning, Kuei-Jen, An-Nan and Dou-Liu campuses, and some areas designated for dormitory use.

On 12 January 2011, the Y. S. Sun Green Building Research Center was inaugurated.<ref name="quirky">Template:Cite news</ref> It is the world's first green educational center as well as Taiwan's first zero carbon building.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Template:Convert-facility cost NT$30 million (US$4.41 million) to construct, far below the original NT$180 million budget.<ref name="quirky" /> Natural ventilation, limited power usage, reduced window size, and energy efficient lighting all contribute to the building's carbon neutrality.<ref name="quirky" />

Organization

File:(front) the library of NCKU.jpg

NCKU Main Library

NCKU comprises 9 colleges, 43 departments, and 39 institutes. NCKU is organized into 9 colleges, including Liberal Arts, Sciences, Management, Engineering, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Social Science, Planning & Design, Bioscience & Biotechnology and Medicine, each with its own faculties, departments, and institutes offering programs up to doctoral level. The university currently offers 42 undergraduate programs, 74 master's degree programs, 53 doctoral programs, and 17 master's degree programs for working professionals. While most courses are taught in Mandarin Chinese, many are offered in English.Template:Citation needed

International programs

File:Sun and shadow over the lawns at Cheng Kung University.jpg

Central quadrangle

NCKU has 401 cooperation agreements with 251 institutions and universities across the world. Student exchange agreements have been signed with 98 foreign partner universities including University of Southern California, Technical University of Munich, Leiden University, the University of New South Wales, Kyoto University, Seoul National University, National University of Singapore, etc.Template:Citation needed

In 2018, KU Leuven and IMEC reached dual degree agreement with NCKU.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During the same year, NCKU and Purdue University signed the agreement of collaboration for international dual degree program and online courses.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> TU Darmstadt launched its liaison office in Asia at NCKU on 21 May 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

NCKU participates in the Taiwan International Graduate Program in Interdisciplinary Neuroscience of Academia Sinica, the national academy of Taiwan.Template:Citation needed

Rankings

NCKU is generally considered to be a top tier university in Taiwan, along with National Taiwan University, National Tsing Hua University, and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. In 2014, the Representative of Japan in Taiwan listed NCKU as one of the seven well-known Taiwanese universities.<ref>交流, No.879, p.6. A total of 5 public universities and 2 private universities were selected: NTU, NCKU, NTHU, NYCU, NCCU, Fu Jen Catholic and Soochow University.</ref>

Overall

Globally, NCKU is 228th in QS WUR 2024, 601–800th in Times WUR 2023, 639th in U.S. News & World Report rankings 2022-2023, 301–400th in ARWU 2022, and 218th in CWTS Leiden Ranking.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Subject/Area

According to QS World University Rankings by Subject in 2020,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> NCKU ranked within the world's top 150 universities in the following fields: Civil and Structural Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science and Information Systems, Chemical Engineering, Engineering and Technology, Materials Sciences, Architecture, Statistics and Operational Research, Art and Design, and Environmental Studies.

The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) ranked NCKU 76-100th in the engineering field in 2016 and 101-150th in computer science in 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

According to the ESI database, NCKU has published 18,333 papers in the last ten years and has respectively ranked the 24th and the 51st in the list of world top 100 universities respectively in the engineering and computer science fields.

List of presidents

• Template:Interlanguage link (January 1931 – August 1941)
• Sakuma Iwao; 佐久間巖 (August 1941 – March 1944)
• Shunsuke Suemitsu; 末光俊介 (March 1944 – October 1944)
• Saburo Kousuke; 甲婓三郎 (October 1944 – October 1945)
• Template:Interlanguage link (February 1946 – August 1951)
• Yeh Tung-tse (August 1951 – February 1952)
• Template:Interlanguage link (February 1952 – July 1957)
• Yen Cheng-hsing (August 1957 – December 1964)
• Template:Interlanguage link (January 1965 – July 1971)
• Template:Interlanguage link (August 1971 – July 1978)
• Template:Interlanguage link (August 1978 – July 1980)
• Hsia Han-min; 夏漢民 (August 1980 – July 1988)
• Ma Che-ju; 馬哲儒 (August 1988 – July 1994)
• Wu Jin (August 1994 – June 1996)
• Huang Ting-chia; 黃定加 (July 1996 – February 1997)
• Weng Cheng-yi; 翁政義 (February 1997 – May 2000)
• Weng Hung-shan; 翁鴻山 (May 2000 – January 2001)
• Kao Chiang; 高強 (February 2001 – January 2007)
• Michael M. C. Lai (February 2007 – January 2011)
• Hwung Hwung-hweng (February 2011 – January 2015)
• Su Huey-jen; 蘇慧貞 (February 2015 – January 2023)
• Shen Meng-ru; 沈孟儒 (Since February 2023)

Notable alumni

• style }}(Medicine, 1991)
  style }}(Medicine, 1991)
• style }}(BS, 1971)
  style }}(BS, 1971)
• style }}(BA, 1962)
  style }}(BA, 1962)
• style }}(Engineering, 1956)
  style }}(Engineering, 1956)
• style }}(BS, 1958)
  style }}(BS, 1958)

The university has produced notable graduates across politics, science, and the arts. Among its most notable alumni is Lai Ching-te, the current president of Taiwan, who graduated from NCKU's post-baccalaureate medicine program in 1991 and was awarded the university's distinguished alumni medal in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other prominent political figures include Mao Chi-kuo, Premier of the Republic of China (2014–2016); Chang Chia-juch, Minister of Economic Affairs (2013–2014); Chen Hsiung-wen, Minister of Labor (2014–2016); Lung Ying-tai, Minister of Culture (2012–2014); Chen Liang-gee, Minister of Science and Technology (2016–2020); Wang Chien-shien, President of the Control Yuan (2008–2014); Wu Po-hsiung, Mayor of Taipei (1988–1990) and later Chairman of the Kuomintang (2007–2009); Fan Chih-ku, Administrative Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications; Lee Wo-shih, Magistrate of Kinmen County (2009–2014); Lin Hsin-i, Chairman of the Industrial Technology Research Institute and President of China Motor Corporation; and Hsu Hsin-ying, founder and Chairperson of the Minkuotang.

In the fields of science and engineering, notable graduates include Tze-Chiang Chen, IBM Fellow and Vice President of Science and Technology at IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center; Ken P. Chong, Director of the Division of Mechanics and Materials at the U.S. National Science Foundation; Chu Ching-wu, a leading superconductor physicist and President of the Taiwan Comprehensive University System; Wei-Kan Chu, professor of physics at the University of Houston; Lin Yi-bing, Vice President of the Office of Research and Development at National Chiao Tung University; Chung Laung Liu, computer scientist; and Wen Ho Lee, the nuclear physicist once accused of espionage. Samuel C. C. Ting, a Nobel Prize laureate in physics, also attended NCKU before returning to the United States. Architect Chu-yuan Lee, who designed Taipei 101, one of the largest skyscrapers in the world, also studied at the university.

In culture and the humanities, Cheng Nan-jung and Pai Hsien-yung both began their studies in engineering at NCKU before shifting to the humanities and went on to become prominent public intellectuals and writers. In addition, NCKU has many international alumni who have studied Mandarin Chinese at the university, such as Mike Frerichs, the state treasurer of Illinois.

Notable faculty

• Wong Tsu, first aeronautical engineer at Boeing

See also

• National Cheng Kung University Hospital
• Taiwan Comprehensive University System
• List of universities in Taiwan

External links

• Template:Official website Template:In lang
• University website for International students
• Three universities in central and southern Taiwan forge alliance