Eight Years on, CTCI Education Foundation Promotes Sustainability Education

CTCI Group founded CTCI Education Foundation (CTCI EF) in 2015 to “promote the development of sustainability engineering and assist our country towards a sustainable future by anchoring on the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).” During the past seven years, the Foundation has worked closely with industries, academia, government agencies and research institutions in Taiwan and overseas to promote university social responsibility (USR), advocate SDGs, deepen corporate social responsibility and spearhead climate actions. 

CTCI EF has started a series of events and activities, in order to construct a platform globally and regionally, connect with initiatives worldwide and locally, broadcast Taiwan’s most recent achievements in sustainability, and drive policies in sustainable development.  
 
Despite the pandemic during the past two years, CTCI EF successfully organized “Taiwan in My Eyes 120h,” “Living Lab Project Awards,” “International Conference on Integrated and Innovative Solutions for Circular Economy,” and “calling for proposals of school-based curriculum in sustainability.” The Foundation seeks to develop sustainable talents via scholarships, education books, academic seminars, development workshops, camp and lectures for youth and international students. The purpose is to deepen sustainability competencies and encourage cross-disciplinary conversations and industry-academia cooperation.  Meanwhile, the Foundation worked with CTCI Group in sharing of “CTCI Group’s achievements in sustainability,” “CTCI ESG projects” and “Taiwan Forum on Sustainability Engineering.”

Taiwan in My Eyes 120h

Started in 2017, “Taiwan in My Eyes” 120h— held the seventh time— has attracted a total of 37 universities and 468 students and postgraduates in Taiwan from 61 countries.  The broadcasting on social media by students showcases to the world Taiwan’s achievements in driving sustainability. This also allows foreign students to understand Taiwan better, promotes national diplomacy and advocates education in sustainability. 

Living Lab Project Awards that Generate Solutions

Living Lab endeavors to take the lab environment into real life scenarios through a variety of models, including perceptions, prototypes constructing, validations, and improvements of complex solution in a diversified and evolving environment. The purpose is to encourage participating teams to develop solutions to achieve net zero. In 2022, “Sustainability and Net Zero Award” was established for the team most corresponding to  the theme of the competition.  Each participating team also came up with the solutions for net zero. In the end, the panel of judges from industries and academia selected a total of 20 teams. A total of 74 students and postgraduates from 14 colleges and universities in Taiwan and overseas participated in the validation process, hoping to resolve challenges in sustainability for campuses, communities, societies, countries, and the world. 

International Conference on “Integrated and Innovative Solutions for Circular Economy”

This conference invited 28 scholars and experts from 15 countries/areas, including the U.S., the Czech Republic, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Malaysia, Sweden, India, Germany, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Australia and Taiwan, to discuss issues surrounding the “circular economy.”  The three pillars of the activities are: net zero geopolitics, supply chain decarbonization, biomass/hydrogen production and utilization. The purpose is to share the implementations of circular economies in different countries and the most updated international information. It is hoped that the momentum and innovative technologies from different parties promote industrial transformation, and achieve the circular economy and contribute to sustainability of Taiwan.

“Proposals for School-based Curriculum in Sustainability” in Cooperation with the Ministry of Education

CTCI EF and the Ministry of Education jointly organized a climate change education program named “ESDG to Connect with the World and Drive the Future – 2022 School-Based Curricula in Sustainability” and received proposals from 18 teams from 18 schools and over 70 teachers in Taiwan. The top prize went to Renwu Senior High School; the runner-up prizes to Actions Everywhere & International Teaching Team; Yang Ming ESDG Mobile Teachers; and Yue Ming Elementary & Junior High School. Honorary awards were given to Ying-Yung Chung Shan Team; Hsing Lung Citizens and Dreamers Team; Guting Actions; Humanity Primary/Junior High School; Chongxue Elementary School and Focus International Team. 

CTCI ESG Projects

Sustainable development has a profound impact on corporate operation. CTCI EF and CTCI Group collaborated in the organization of brainstorming sessions for “CTCI ESG Projects.” The purpose was to establish a collective understanding of ESG development needs and enhance strategies in business sustainability.  This project summarized and analyzed the best practice activities, strategies, operations and performances of the engineering service industry both domestically and overseas in sustainability. This was provided in stages of information gathering, training & lectures, discussions & workshops and enhancement strategies. Results were presented on the sharing platform. The purpose was to provide CTCI with the effective strategies for long-term ESG development.  

Little Engineers Summer Camp in Sustainability to Nurture New Blood in Sustainability

“Little Engineers Summer Camp” jointly organized by CTCI EF, CTCI Group and Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy (TAISE) was a well-received project. This year, it is a three-day event that included visits to CTCI Corporation, ECOVE Green DreamWorks and TAIPOWER D/S ONE. The event came to a perfect end after the fun and lively presentation of achievements by 56 students. It is worth mentioning that 15 students joined the camp under the guidance of teachers in Wanli Elementary School. The school has set up Energy Education Center and has been developing creative teaching in energy efficiency and carbon reduction for years.  This activity aims to integrate sustainability with engineering and to add new talent pipelines for sustainability development in the engineering industry. 

Looking into 2023, CTCI EF hopes to advocate its mission statement by organizing events, promote sustainability education in Taiwan, “educate talents in sustainability and innovation,” “reward forward-looking research in sustainability,” “encourage education in corporate social responsibility” and “drive sustainable development of universities.” 

**For the latest information of the CTCI EF, please see website(ctcief.org/) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/CTCIEF)