Tamkang University continues to earn widespread recognition for the quality of its education and institutional governance. Following the university’s receipt of the Best Chinese Quality Culture Award (Organization Award) from the World Alliance for Chinese Quality in 2025, Chairperson Flora Chia-I Chang was honored this year with the Chinese Quality Culture Promoter Award (Individual Award). Accompanied by Chief Audit Executive Jyh-Jiuan Lin, Chairperson Chang attended the 11th World Summit for Chinese Quality, held at Hong Kong Polytechnic University on August 6–7, where she received the award and delivered a keynote speech titled “Advancing Technology through Intelligence and Shaping the Future through Quality.” In her address, she shared Tamkang University’s more than three decades of experience in promoting Total Quality Management (TQM) and explained how quality governance continues to evolve toward a smarter and more sustainable future.

Chairperson Chang has long been committed to the implementation and promotion of TQM in higher education. Tamkang introduced the concept of TQM in 1992 and began implementing it systematically in 1993. Over the years, its development has progressed through the stages of introduction, institutionalization, refinement, and transcendence. The university has not only incorporated approaches such as the PDCA cycle, quality control circles, ISO certification, and performance excellence into higher education, but has also gradually embedded the principle of continuous improvement into university governance, teaching, and administration. Under the theme “Three Decades of TQM Excellence at Tamkang,” Chairperson Chang reviewed this journey and emphasized that its most important outcome has been the development of a deeply rooted culture of quality—an integral part of Tamkang’s organizational DNA.

In her speech, Chairperson Chang further proposed a new definition of quality: “Exceeding customer expectations while sustaining the planet.” She introduced Tamkang’s concept of “Three Dimensions of Well-Being—Production, Life, and Ecology” to illustrate this expanded understanding of quality, with TQM at its core and ESG, the SDGs, University Social Responsibility (USR), and university governance integrated into a comprehensive framework. She also highlighted the work of Tamkang’s wind engineering research team, which successfully identified the cause of wind-induced noise on the Tamkang Bridge, as a concrete example of how a long-established culture of quality, combined with professional expertise, can address real-world challenges.

In the latter part of her speech, Chairperson Chang brought the focus of quality back to people. Drawing on the concept of Futures Literacy developed by UNESCO’s Dr. Riel S. Miller, she expanded the idea through five dimensions: imagination, insight, foresight, collective intelligence, and awareness. Through the systematic exploration of futures studies, she expressed the hope that the possible, visible, and desirable futures envisioned through university practice can extend to global sustainable development, helping create a new future for quality in the global Chinese community—one that combines intelligent technology with a human touch.

The World Alliance for Chinese Quality particularly recognized Chairperson Chang’s longstanding commitment to innovation in educational governance and the cultivation of a deeply rooted culture of quality. Her work has contributed to the development of a governance model with distinctive Chinese characteristics, guided by a philosophy of quality founded on truth, goodness, and beauty and integrating traditional Chinese wisdom with modern management practices to enhance both educational quality and social value. The award not only recognizes Chairperson Chang’s years of dedication, but also underscores the enduring value of quality culture in education—its ability to be passed from one generation to the next, extend beyond the university, and create meaningful social impact.