SDG10
NCKU Atelier Future Teams Up with Bank SinoPac to Promote Rural Education
Hosted by the NCKU Atelier Future and sponsored by Bank SinoPac, the Formula Racing Team Science Education Camp was held from August 6 to 8 in Tainan’s Nanshi District and at the NCKU campus. This marked the first self-initiated rural science outreach by the NCKU Formula Racing Team since its founding in 2018, combining racing expertise with STEM education to provide local elementary school students with a learning experience that was both fun and inspiring — while also showcasing the university’s social responsibility and industry–academia collaboration outcomes.
Industry–Academia Partnership Accelerates Innovation in Rural Education
The event was a highlight of the third phase of the NCKU–Bank SinoPac industry–academia cooperation program. Since 2023, the two sides have run the SinoPac Accelerator program, supporting student startup teams and clubs with innovative spirit and social impact, helping them transform ideas into real-world actions. Leveraging years of experience in race car design, manufacturing, and competition, Formula Racing Team members translated scientific knowledge into interactive courses tailored for elementary students, bringing science and engineering education into rural areas. The initiative also injected fresh learning opportunities and hope into a community still recovering from an earthquake, setting a new example for student teams engaging in public service.
From Theory to Practice: Hands-On Racing Science
Usually focused on engineering and racing competitions, the 13 team members used their summer break to design and deliver the program.
Over the first two days, they visited the Nanshi after-school program of the Touch Love Association, teaching STEM concepts and racing knowledge to 22 elementary school students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Using “science in daily life” as an entry point, the curriculum guided students in exploring the physics, engineering, and technology behind everyday phenomena. Interactive teaching, group projects, and small-scale experiments introduced concepts like vehicle structure, safety checks, and road safety — while also fostering problem-solving, teamwork, and logical thinking skills.
On August 8, the final day, students visited NCKU. In the morning at the Tzu-Chiang Campus, they launched water rockets they had built from recycled plastic bottles, experiencing firsthand concepts such as action–reaction forces, pressure-to-kinetic energy conversion, air resistance, and gravity. In the afternoon at the Future Venue, they showcased their group-designed race track models, then tested the autonomous cars they had built earlier in the week on simulated tracks — turning knowledge into motion and enjoying the excitement and sense of accomplishment of seeing their work come to life.
Collaboration for Innovative and Sustainable Education
Nanshi District, heavily affected by the January 2025 earthquake, already faces challenges including reliance on agriculture, youth outmigration, and an aging population. Since 2018, the Touch Love Association has supported disadvantaged children, opening its Nanshi after-school program in 2022 to provide language, arts, character education, and meal services. This initiative, through the partnership between NCKU’s Atelier Future and Bank SinoPac, brought educational resources to a rural area, helping close the urban–rural learning gap and creating more opportunities for diverse learning experiences.
“Through this collaborative model, we hope not only for our students to gain expertise on campus but also to find meaning in social action, while giving rural children new inspiration,” said Dr. Yu-Pei Tsai, Executive Director of the NCKU Atelier Future. Bank SinoPac has long supported rural education and health initiatives, taking concrete action to advance public welfare and sustainable development. Its sponsorship aligns with UN SDG 4: Quality Education, underscoring the commitment of business–academia collaboration to delivering sustainable value in practice.
From Nanshi to All of Taiwan
The 2025 Nanshi outreach is only the beginning. The NCKU Formula Racing Team plans to make rural STEM education an annual summer tradition, choosing a different rural location each year. This will not only build the team’s brand in Taiwan’s student racing community but also gradually create a social action network connecting resources to local needs. The Atelier Future and Bank SinoPac will continue their partnership, supporting campus teams in transforming creativity into social problem-solving — ensuring that the resources and influence of higher education truly take root, lighting up more possibilities for learning in Taiwan’s rural communities.
Industry–Academia Partnership Accelerates Innovation in Rural Education
The event was a highlight of the third phase of the NCKU–Bank SinoPac industry–academia cooperation program. Since 2023, the two sides have run the SinoPac Accelerator program, supporting student startup teams and clubs with innovative spirit and social impact, helping them transform ideas into real-world actions. Leveraging years of experience in race car design, manufacturing, and competition, Formula Racing Team members translated scientific knowledge into interactive courses tailored for elementary students, bringing science and engineering education into rural areas. The initiative also injected fresh learning opportunities and hope into a community still recovering from an earthquake, setting a new example for student teams engaging in public service.
From Theory to Practice: Hands-On Racing Science
Usually focused on engineering and racing competitions, the 13 team members used their summer break to design and deliver the program.
Over the first two days, they visited the Nanshi after-school program of the Touch Love Association, teaching STEM concepts and racing knowledge to 22 elementary school students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Using “science in daily life” as an entry point, the curriculum guided students in exploring the physics, engineering, and technology behind everyday phenomena. Interactive teaching, group projects, and small-scale experiments introduced concepts like vehicle structure, safety checks, and road safety — while also fostering problem-solving, teamwork, and logical thinking skills.
On August 8, the final day, students visited NCKU. In the morning at the Tzu-Chiang Campus, they launched water rockets they had built from recycled plastic bottles, experiencing firsthand concepts such as action–reaction forces, pressure-to-kinetic energy conversion, air resistance, and gravity. In the afternoon at the Future Venue, they showcased their group-designed race track models, then tested the autonomous cars they had built earlier in the week on simulated tracks — turning knowledge into motion and enjoying the excitement and sense of accomplishment of seeing their work come to life.
Collaboration for Innovative and Sustainable Education
Nanshi District, heavily affected by the January 2025 earthquake, already faces challenges including reliance on agriculture, youth outmigration, and an aging population. Since 2018, the Touch Love Association has supported disadvantaged children, opening its Nanshi after-school program in 2022 to provide language, arts, character education, and meal services. This initiative, through the partnership between NCKU’s Atelier Future and Bank SinoPac, brought educational resources to a rural area, helping close the urban–rural learning gap and creating more opportunities for diverse learning experiences.
“Through this collaborative model, we hope not only for our students to gain expertise on campus but also to find meaning in social action, while giving rural children new inspiration,” said Dr. Yu-Pei Tsai, Executive Director of the NCKU Atelier Future. Bank SinoPac has long supported rural education and health initiatives, taking concrete action to advance public welfare and sustainable development. Its sponsorship aligns with UN SDG 4: Quality Education, underscoring the commitment of business–academia collaboration to delivering sustainable value in practice.
From Nanshi to All of Taiwan
The 2025 Nanshi outreach is only the beginning. The NCKU Formula Racing Team plans to make rural STEM education an annual summer tradition, choosing a different rural location each year. This will not only build the team’s brand in Taiwan’s student racing community but also gradually create a social action network connecting resources to local needs. The Atelier Future and Bank SinoPac will continue their partnership, supporting campus teams in transforming creativity into social problem-solving — ensuring that the resources and influence of higher education truly take root, lighting up more possibilities for learning in Taiwan’s rural communities.
Dr. Yu-Pei Tsai(front row, first from right), Executive Director of NCKU Atelier Future, together with members of the NCKU Formula Racing Team (back row), visited the Nanshi after-school program of the Touch Love Association to conduct a three-day science education camp with social workers, teachers, and children.
Children from the Nanshi after-school program of the Touch Love Association, guided by members of the NCKU Formula Racing Team, worked in groups to design and assemble autonomous cars.
On the third day of the event, August 8, children from the Nanshi after-school program of the Touch Love Association visited the NCKU campus, where they spent the morning at the Tzu-Chiang Campus launching water rockets.
On the third day of the event, August 8, children from the Nanshi after-school program of the Touch Love Association moved to the NCKU campus, where in the afternoon they experienced autonomous cars racing on a simulated track at the Future Venue.
