The 2025 Global Views University Social Responsibility (USR) Awards winners were announced on April 1. Following our first win last year, Tamkang University again stood out, earning two awards. On April 8, Executive Vice President Chun-Hung Lin, Chief Audit Executive Yen-Ling Lin, Associate Professor Hsiao-Wen Hung (Head of the Resilient Governance Section, Center for Sustainability Development and Social Innovation, SDSI), Professor Min-Fen Tu (Chief Editor of the Sustainability Report and faculty member of the Department of Business Administration), and alumnus Cheng-Min Hsu attended the award ceremony. Prof. Chun-Hung Lin received the Model Award in the “Sustainability Report Category” from Deputy Minister of Education Ping-Cheng Yeh, while Prof. Tu received the Excellence Award in the “Sustainable Curriculum Category” from Global Views–Commonwealth Publishing Group founder Charles Kao.

In his speech, Prof. Chun-Hung Lin emphasized that as part of higher education, Tamkang University’s foremost responsibility is cultivating talents that society and the nation need. The awards serve as both recognition of the university's past and present achievements and motivation to remain a leader. He further noted that Tamkang has long been dedicated to building a sustainable campus, achieving outstanding results. In February, TKU was invited to share its achievements in energy conservation and smart energy monitoring systems with over 150 university presidents at the National University Presidents’ Conference. Over the past decade, Tamkang has received the Excellence Award for Green Procurement from the New Taipei City Government nine times. Prof. Lin also stressed Tamkang University’s social responsibility, highlighting how faculty lead students into communities through USR projects to foster deeper local engagement and shared prosperity with Tamsui. “We understand the future challenges are daunting, but with today’s recognition, Tamkang is confident it will continue to thrive in sustainable development.”

Following its Gold Award win in the “Sustainability Report” category at the 2024 inaugural Taiwan Sustainable University Awards, Tamkang’s report received further recognition. Judges praised it for using “AI+SDGs=∞” as a visionary sustainability goal, noting its clarity and originality. The report’s innovative approaches to goal-setting and stakeholder mapping stood out, and its emphasis on interdisciplinary learning and student competencies surpassed the norm for most universities. Academic Vice President and Director of SDSI, Prof. Hui-Huang Hsu, explained that the 2023 Sustainability Report is a meaningful reference for related units, as it distilled extensive survey and interview data to highlight the top 10 issues of concern to stakeholders. For example, parents prioritize academic excellence, aligning with Tamkang’s positioning as a research-oriented teaching university, which supports continued incentives for faculty research. Students and parents alike value career development, prompting departments to integrate career planning into their recruitment and teaching strategies, while also promoting industry-academia collaboration. He also expressed appreciation to alumni associations for hosting annual student-parent orientation sessions, which help boost enrollment enthusiasm.

Regarding the Strategic Management course, which earned an Excellence Award in the newly established “Sustainable Curriculum” category, Prof. Hsu congratulated and thanked Professor Tu for her dedication. She guided students in understanding and participating in sustainability report creation, encouraging them toward careers as sustainability managers. “We hope more faculty will take part in designing and implementing sustainability curricula—not just writing reports, but also strengthening local engagement to embed sustainability and address social and business issues. The university will continue supporting these efforts through development and enhancement projects, striving toward the goal of a resilient university city rooted in local-global connection, cloud-based intelligence, and sustainable futures.”

Judges praised the Strategic Management course for “breaking away from the traditional shortcomings of business programs that tend to be broad but superficial and quickly outdated. Its practical relevance is high—even if not all students can fully grasp it now, the course is meticulously structured from content scripting to scenario design and theoretical delivery. By teaching students how to interpret and construct corporate sustainability reports, the course helps bridge the final mile into the workplace.” For Prof. Tu and her students, the award is not just recognition, it is a powerful encouragement to continue exploring between pedagogical innovation and sustainability education.

Tu shared that the course invites students to envision themselves as future sustainability managers, prompting them to think about how strategy and sustainability intersect and how learning can shape a career blueprint. Furthermore, the course transforms learning outcomes into tangible projects: students operate in groups as mock companies and use the GRI (2021) international sustainability reporting standards to develop their sustainability reports from scratch. This simulated yet real process helps students understand that a report isn’t just homework, it’s a persuasive tool to engage the world.

Prof. Tu also brought the 2023 Tamkang University Sustainability Report, which she helped write, into the classroom as a model. When students opened the real report, they didn’t just see a reference, they saw something they could achieve. From course design to learning outcomes, Tu believes the greatest strength of a course lies in helping students learn deeply, see tangible results, and gain confidence. “This award isn’t just my honor; it’s a shared achievement by all the students who committed to learning and believed in the future.”