The local resilience that YunTech emphasizes not only takes into account the environmental changes caused by acute natural disasters (Acute Shocks) but also effectively manages chronic changes like an aging population, education gaps, crime and violence, and the widening gap between the rich and the poor (Chronic Stresses). They cover environmental, social, economic, and other aspects. Establish YunTech and local network communities, uphold an effective social network and economic system, and advise the government on best allocating resources to boost resilience.

YunTech aims to inspire teachers to make appropriate local connections outside of campus, aid the restoration of community self-awareness, attract external resources, improve local resilience (increase self-confidence), combine local resilience building with global action initiatives, and achieve sustainable regional inclusion and comprehensive sustainability. Hence, “a great city should have a great university!” This statement shows the importance of colleges and universities in the region. Universities should play a key role in regional development and cultivate local talents to become a “local think tank.”

The Core Vision of YunTech USR

By promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the united nations and the University Social Responsibility (USR) of the Ministry of Education, the university should become a think tank to provide local support while cultivating students and promote the comprehensive and sustainable development of the country. YunTech’s vision is to “promote the sustainability of economy, society, and environment through the power of education and knowledge.” The goal is to “integrate and practice the spirit of sustainability into teaching, research, development, and international collaborations” to advance teaching and school affairs development and fulfill the university’s social responsibility as a global citizen. We have also established the “Sustainable Development and Social Practice Research Center.” Its purpose is to execute school-wide support operations gradually; build a USR-HUB community; provide knowledge, resources, and teaching tools; and lay a solid foundation to integrate the key features and resources within the school. Promote the integration and connection of relevant administrative, teaching, and research practical tasks. Integrate the university’s social responsibility into the dissemination and impact of the school’s missions.

YunTech USR’s Promotion Methods and Innovative Actions

The school has established indicators and performance evaluation methods for sustainable issues every year. Teachers can make proposals independently through IR selection and require project proposal applications to meet the SDG 17 goals. KPIs are developed according to the school-level development direction, and the amount of subsidized funds available determines the goals to be achieved by each plan.

The KPIs set by our school include: team composition is divided into three or more teachers across the 2 colleges and 3 departments, or two teachers across departments or colleges, and the composition plan of the teachers. Each teacher must incorporate the courses, provide the course number during the application process, and provide the information content of the cooperation field and institution. During the implementation of each case plan, 1-3 lectures or workshop activities need to be recognized. At the end of the year, cooperate with the USR Center to hold a school-wide achievement exhibition and submit textbook materials for 1-3 courses. In addition, the KPI recognition package for plan extension includes bonus applications to facilitate industry-academia cooperation projects, academic publications by teachers, media exposure, special topics for tutoring students, master and doctoral dissertations, competitions for college students, etc.

YunTech’s USR Commitment

Our school has incorporated USR into the mid-to-long-term plan for future school affairs development. The goal is to propose the expansion of fields and topics that correspond to Yunlin’s local characteristics based on the features and development directions of the objectives of each college. Start from the remote village of Lishan to explore the local agriculture and livestock industry upgrade and the local talent cultivation in Yunlin. Correspond the healthy Yunlin, food crisis, circular economy, green industry, extreme climate, and other key development subjects with the UN SDGs and apply them to the USR’s future development context to create an opportunity to simultaneously integrate economic, social, and environmental policy actions, and begin a new mode of thinking and action.

In 2021, we launched the AEOT model and “Yunlin Local Studies” as a multi-practical aspect of sustainable development and social practice. The goal is to develop several key features and demonstrate stakeholder co-creation results. The school’s 2018-2021 social practice promotion is shown in the figure below.