National Sun Yat-sen University has recently tied an alliance with the Kaohsiung Branch of Taiwan International Ports Corporation to cooperate in sustainable management, port history development, regional revitalization, education and training, and to establish a new model of industry-academia cooperation. The letter of intent on industry-academia cooperation was signed by NSYSU President Ying-Yao Cheng and Vice President and CEO of the Port of Kaohsiung Kow-Ming Chang.
The Port of Kaohsiung, as the largest port in Taiwan’s international trade for over a century, has been through various stages of construction and development. The port industry and economy drove the development of the city and the entire region. The old port area later fell into decline and was subsequently regenerated. This time, the cooperation between NSYSU and the Port of Kaohsiung will focus on research on port sustainability and innovation, port history emergence and development, talent training, and industry-academia cooperation. President Cheng said that NSYSU has been implementing the Humanity Innovation and Social Practice project of the Ministry of Science and Technology, hoping to include the port – a carrier of collective memory – into the research project. The project is to promote the revitalization of idle space of the old port area, plant trees, establish community farms, and incorporate carbon absorption into the carbon neutrality plan of the port area for the sustainable management of the Port of Kaohsiung.
President Ying-Yao Cheng said that with the rapid changes of modern society, besides learning professional knowledge, it is more important to have a cross-disciplinary mindset, a passion for practical work, and the audacity to explore the future. He hopes that this collaboration will increase the University’s research capacity and humanistic values. “This year, NSYSU has just published a sustainability report, and we believe that with the research on port sustainability and innovation, and the support of the Kaohsiung Branch of Taiwan International Ports Corporation, we can drive the development of the Port of Kaohsiung and fulfill the University’s and the Corporation’s social responsibility and together ponder on the sustainable future of the Port.
The letter signing took place in Kaohsiung Port History Museum, which has witnessed over 100 years of history of the Port of Kaohsiung. NSYSU and the Kaohsiung Branch of Taiwan International Ports Corporation set a new milestone in history. Vice President and CEO of the Port of Kaohsiung Kow-Ming Chang mentioned that in the past, both parties cooperated in many ways, including sending employees of the Port of Kaohsiung to study at NSYSU, entrusting the College of Marine Sciences with marine technology research and application, and recently, working with Department of Marine Environment and Engineering to join the 2021 World Port Sustainability Program of the International Association of Ports and Harbors, winning the award in the category of Resilient Infrastructure. By signing the letter of intent, both parties hope for bilateral cooperation on the historical development and story collection of the port and increasing the interaction between the port area and local residents to open up the future innovative value of Kaohsiung Port History Museum, the center for the port memory.
