According to the latest Evaluation Bimonthly, a journal published by the Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan, the publication of TKU research papers in engineering and chemistry and frequency of citation by other papers has improved greatly. They are officially in the ranking system of ESI (Essential Science Indicators). Based on this ranking, the publication of TKU research papers in engineering is ranked the 392th (moved from number 413), and have been cited 586 times, a 55 notches of improvement. Dr. Yu Gwo-hsing, the Dean of the College of Engineering, is pleased with this impressive progress. Dr. Wang Bo-cheng, the Chair of the Dept. of Chemistry, also appreciates the progress his researchers are making. The ranking of the papers produced his department is the 619th and frequency of citation is 846 times. These numbers put his department in the same bracket of the very best universities around the world. Nonetheless, he would like to see his department to be included in the first 400 in the not very distant future. Dr. Chen Kan-nan, the Vice President for Academic Affairs is pleased the TKU’s investment in research has paid off, as ESI provides a reliable gauge to evaluate the research quality of an academic institution.

ESI is a resource that collects data on the top 1% of academic institutions world-wide based on their journal article publication counts and citation frequency. For instance, TKU published approximately 2004 papers at the time of the most recent assessment by ESI, making the university the 14th highest among the universities in Taiwan, and no. 1045 in the world ranking. Many papers enjoy significant high frequency of citation, indicating the impressive quality and international importance of some of the research done at TKU. Chen Kan-nan believes that this success is an accumulative effort that gets piled up gradually in smaller steps each day. When time is ripe, and momentum is reached, great results will simply explode and be noticed, he points out.

Dr. Yu explains that his college will continue to promote research. In February, his college proposed an extensive five-year project, aiming to establish one or two areas of expertise in the next five years. In this period of time, each department will sharpen its focus on particular research area, hire qualified teaching staff as well as research fellows, improve research environment, update facilities both in hardware and software. These measures, Yu argues, will significantly enhance their ranking in ESI. According to Activity Index, the engineering programs at TKU reaches as high as 2.85, while chemistry related programs has a comfortable 1.98, making them the second best if not the best in the country—even better than those in some of the best national universities in Taiwan. ( ~Ying-hsueh Hu )