- Mandatory for Freshmen: "Exploring Tainan" Leads Students into Local Culture and Landscapes
The campus-wide core general education curriculum "Exploring Tainan," promoted by NCKU, treats the entire city as an open, wall-less learning environment, deeply engaging in the preservation and promotion of local historical contexts and intangible cultural heritage. Breaking away from traditional classroom lectures, the course guides incoming freshmen to personally explore Tainan's historic districts, traditional settlements, folk beliefs, and ecological landscapes, gaining a deep understanding of the ancient capital's centuries-old cultural heritage. Through on-site field visits, fieldwork interviews, and cross-disciplinary dialogues, the curriculum not only fosters young students' sense of identity and care for local communities, but also transforms historical memory into cultural awareness and innovative practice for a new generation—ensuring that valuable local culture continues to be recognized, transmitted, and revitalized in contemporary society.https://exptainan.liberal.ncku.edu.tw/index.php?lang=cht&task=home
- Centre for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage
The Center for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage at NCKU was established in 2020 to address the growing national demand for the protection of archaeological sites and cultural heritage in the context of ongoing economic and social development. Positioned as a cross-disciplinary platform for collaboration among academia, government, and industry, the Center integrates research, education, and social practice to sustain and advance Taiwan’s academic tradition in archaeology and cultural heritage. Its work encompasses talent cultivation, research and collections, educational outreach, and administrative management. Through consultation services, technical support, laboratories, and database platforms, the Center promotes academic research and cultural heritage preservation. It also undertakes government and industry-commissioned projects, strengthening legal reforms and policy development in the field of cultural heritage.https://cach.web2.ncku.edu.tw/p/404-1145-221.php?Lang=zh-tw
- NCKU International Symposium on Traditional Shipbuilding Craftsmanship in Eastern Asia
NCKU hosted the International Symposium on Traditional Shipbuilding Craftsmanship in Eastern Asia from August 22 to 23, focusing on East Asian maritime history and the preservation of intangible cultural heritage. While Fu vessels—once a dominant vessel type in East Asia—have gradually declined with modernization, their construction techniques have been preserved intact in Taiwan through Wangchuan (King Boat) sacrificial rituals. The conference gathered scholars, master artisans, and temple representatives from Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore to explore the historical evolution of Fu vessels and the cultural context of Wangchuan worship, including the Ong Chun (also as Wangchuan, Wangkang) ceremony jointly inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by Melaka's Yong Chuan Tian. Integrating field investigations with digital technologies such as 3D holographic projection, the NCKU team comprehensively documented shipbuilding blueprints to advance transnational dialogue and technical transmission, highlighting Taiwan's commitment to safeguarding shared East Asian maritime cultural heritage.https://news-secr.ncku.edu.tw/p/406-1037-286452,r81.php
- NCKU Indigenous Student Resource Center
The NCKU Indigenous Student Resource Center (ISRC) is dedicated to preserving and transmitting the cultural roots of students from displaced communities pursuing higher education away from their ancestral homes. Addressing the risks of cultural disconnect faced by indigenous students relocating from tribal lands to an urban mainstream environment, the Center establishes a cultural haven by offering lectures and credit programs on contemporary indigenous issues, as well as cultivating culturally inclusive campus spaces. Functioning as a collaborative bridge between the university and ancestral tribal regions, the Center advances cultural research and community connections, empowering displaced students to deepen ethnic self-confidence and belonging, thereby fulfilling the vital mission of preserving, practicing, and sustaining tribal cultural memory within an urban academic setting.https://isrc.web2.ncku.edu.tw/
- Implementing Cultural Equity and Inclusive Education: NCKU Introduces "Leave for Indigenous Rituals and Ceremonies" and "Leave for Multicultural Festivals"
To implement cultural equity and inclusive education, NCKU approved amendments to the “NCKU Regulations for Student Leave of Absence”, officially introducing "leave for indigenous rituals and ceremonies" and "leave for multicultural festivals" to address the diverse backgrounds of students and cultivate cultural awareness. Among these, "leave for indigenous rituals and ceremonies" is classified as official leave, allowing indigenous students to participate in major tribal rituals and ceremonies for up to five days per year to prevent cultural transmission from being interrupted by coursework. Meanwhile, "leave for multicultural festivals" is categorized as personal leave, open to all students wishing to observe personal religious beliefs or cultural celebrations, subject to approval by the course instructors.https://news-secr.ncku.edu.tw/p/406-1037-283544,r81.php