Research Centers
Agricultural and Biotechnology Product Inspection Service Center
The Agricultural and Biotechnology Product Inspection Service Center (hereinafter referred to as the Agricultural Inspection Center) has been providing convenient, rapid, and reliable pesticide residue testing services for agriculture-related products in the Yunlin region since its establishment in April 2008, with over 15 years of experience to date. In response to existing regulations that impose increasing requirements on both the frequency and scope of testing for agricultural products and processed agricultural products, the Center has collaborated extensively with agricultural and food-related industries and has become a trusted partner laboratory. However, in recent years, pressure from industry has gradually increased, primarily focusing on (1) demands for faster service turnaround times; (2) requirements for quality accreditation; and (3) demands for a broader range of testing items. Furthermore, existing regulations continue to impose greater requirements on testing frequency and items for agricultural products and their processed goods.
The Agricultural Inspection Center of this University has successively obtained accreditations from two major competent authorities—the Food and Drug Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Taiwan Accreditation Foundation—making it a nationally recognized professional laboratory with dual accreditation, ensuring the reliability of its testing quality and results. In response to diverse local needs, the Center has expanded its testing services and upgraded relevant equipment to enhance its service capacity for Yunlin County’s agricultural and food processing industries. In addition to existing pesticide item accreditations, new accreditations have been obtained for mycotoxins, heavy metals in grains, and inorganic arsenic in foods. Other accreditation items (such as nutritional components and microbiology) are continuously being expanded. The Center aims to provide more timely, accurate, and livelihood-oriented high-quality inspection services, assisting county residents in safeguarding food safety and helping to shape Yunlin as a professional, safe, and healthy agricultural county.
Cutting Research Center
To effectively integrate on-campus resources, equipment, manpower, and space (both software and hardware), as well as satellite factories (including the Mechanical Integrated Workshop of the College of Engineering, the NFU Vocational Training Center of the Yunlin-Chiayi-Tainan Branch of the Ministry of Labor, the Intelligent Machinery and Smart Manufacturing Research Center, and the Aerospace Machining Intelligent Training Base), and to establish technical integration, the Center’s hardware facilities encompass basic machining skills, computer numerical control (CNC) machining, computer-aided multi-axis machining, and mill-turn composite machining. Software applications include NX, CATIA, and PowerMill. Through these efforts, the Center further promotes cross-college and interdisciplinary research outcomes and enhances industry–academia collaboration capacity and opportunities through resource integration and technological value-added services.
The Center’s objectives include strengthening internal training for students to independently operate CNC machines and to practically manufacture mechanical components through drafting, process planning, cutting simulation, and machine operation. Internally, the Center also supports faculty and students by providing contract manufacturing services for mechanical component development and process execution to facilitate project implementation. Externally, the Center connects with enterprises through industry–academia collaboration projects to cultivate industry-required talents and to deepen the breadth and depth of industry–academia cooperation. Short-term goals focus on integrating resources, technologies, and talent cultivation through elite students and apprenticeship systems to lay a solid foundation for engineering talent development. Medium-term goals include constructing a modern cutting factory through the establishment of the Industry–Academia Internship Building at the Xingzhong Campus, and further promoting on-campus student internships using comprehensive computer-aided manufacturing equipment and facilities. Long-term goals aim to cultivate industry-required talents through industry–academia collaboration, establish multiplier effects via commissioned talent training, and ultimately realize the vision of an industrial college through the establishment of a comprehensive training environment.
Aircraft Maintenance Training Center
The development of any industry relies on high-quality human resources as its backbone. In order to align with national policies and respond to industry demand for aircraft maintenance personnel and certification training, and to further enhance Taiwan’s aircraft maintenance training to meet international regulatory standards, National Formosa University applied to the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to establish the “National Formosa University Affiliated Aircraft Maintenance Training Center” (hereinafter referred to as “the Center”) in compliance with CAA regulations under “05-02A Regulations Governing the Establishment of Civil Aviation Personnel Training Institutions.” Concurrently, in accordance with the Enforcement Rules of the University Act, the University established a “Bachelor’s Degree Program in Aircraft Maintenance,” open to currently enrolled students applying for transfer.
The development positioning and focus of the Bachelor’s Degree Program in Aircraft Maintenance aim to provide students from related departments with opportunities to receive formal aircraft maintenance training that meets international civil aviation certification standards, thereby expanding their professional capabilities and perspectives, enhancing their professional competence, and enabling them to qualify for the national licensing examination for civil aviation maintenance certification. This prepares students with clear career aspirations for a more comprehensive readiness for their future professional careers.
The primary feature of this program is the integration of a “Degree + Certification” model. The curriculum design simultaneously satisfies the Ministry of Education’s requirements for awarding a bachelor’s degree and the Civil Aviation Act’s regulations for aircraft maintenance training and certification. As a result, students completing the four-year undergraduate program not only obtain a bachelor’s degree but also qualify to apply for the CAA Aircraft Maintenance Engineer certification examination. According to CAA planning, the Center may even be authorized in the future to conduct certification examinations. Graduates who obtain the Aircraft Maintenance Engineer certification will possess a competitive advantage of 4–6 years compared to peers pursuing careers in aircraft maintenance.
Agricultural Research and Extension Center
The Center implements University Social Responsibility (USR) projects with the goal of strengthening local agricultural services and industry–academia collaboration in agricultural technology, empowering farm industry development needs. Building upon the University’s joint operation of the Farmers’ University with the Yunlin County Government for over ten years, the program was upgraded to Farmers’ University 2.0 in October 2020 and has since been continuously promoted by the Center under the spirit of USR practice. Leveraging long-cultivated teams of agricultural mentors and regional agricultural education sites, the Center connects agricultural enterprises, schools, and public sectors through consensus meetings and industry–academia forums to form partnerships and advisory teams. By drawing on the experience and expertise of numerous farmers and institutions in Yunlin, the Center provides technical, marketing, and management services tailored to needs, injecting educational energy and industrial guidance to drive the transformation and upgrading of local agriculture. The Center serves as a platform integrating communities, students, farmers, and enterprises, aiming to establish Yunlin County as the nation’s premier agricultural learning environment. The following key areas are identified as core development focuses:
A. Development and Services of Agricultural Testing Technologies:
Research and development of simple and rapid pesticide testing instrument software and hardware, as well as handheld chlorophyll testing devices, integrated with related industrial services.
B. Farm Management Diagnostics:
Through diagnostics of farm management models, empower farms in marketing, finance, human resources, research and development, and information management, and provide guidance for innovative business models.
C. Production Management Guidance:
Provide production process guidance in cultivation techniques concerning crop physiology, soil, pests, and environmental factors. In terms of quality, apply certification, auditing, and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for quality production management.
D. Promotion and Guidance of Circular Agriculture:
From the perspective of agricultural sustainability, adopt intelligent and rational approaches that go beyond existing concepts of reduction, recycling, and reuse, enhancing agricultural economic, social, and environmental dimensions to establish operational models for circular agriculture.
E. Innovation of Agricultural Business Models:
Introduce innovation and creativity into the agricultural industry, provide startup guidance, and expand into social enterprises.
F. Agricultural Education and Extension:
Through the University’s Department of Agricultural Technology, integrate agriculture with engineering and management fields, connect interdisciplinary teaching resources, and establish dual-track counseling mechanisms to cultivate new agricultural talents. Build a comprehensive agricultural education system in Yunlin by supporting food and agriculture education in elementary schools, collaborating with local junior high schools on vocational programs, strengthening technical education foundations in vocational high schools, and conducting career exploration. In alignment with the Ministry of Education’s industry–academia collaboration policies, establish a long-term agricultural talent cultivation plan under the “3×3+4” model.
G. Agricultural Micro Industry–Academia Collaboration Projects:
Encourage mission-based learning (MBL) through self-initiated research concepts by agricultural mentors and students to enhance agricultural production, management, and marketing capabilities.
H. Enhancing Farmers’ Creativity:
Establish a rural makerspace center, leveraging the University’s expertise in engineering machinery to offer courses and equipment access, fostering farmers’ intelligent creative capabilities and facilitating practical innovation aligned with agricultural application challenges.
I. Promotion of Friendly and Safe Agriculture:
Integrate the operations of environmentally friendly farming promotion groups and implement the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS), enabling consumers, producers, and all stakeholders to participate throughout the process and build community relationships to jointly promote environmental and agricultural sustainability.
J. Promotion of Group-Based Organic Cultivation Production:
Establish an “Organic Group Cultivation Park” to provide large-scale organic cultivation areas, host agricultural mentors to guide new farmers and learners in organic production practices, and offer a base for students interested in agricultural entrepreneurship after graduation.
Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) Design and Application R&D Center
The Center integrates on-campus and off-campus capabilities in MEMS design and applied sciences, consolidates existing processing and analysis equipment, strengthens industry–academia collaboration, and enhances research, development, and services in micro-device design and application technologies.
The Center’s main initiatives include:
(1) Planning and promoting industry–academia collaboration and related research projects—advancing research projects to provide outcomes for industrial application and promote industry–academia exchange.
(2) Training R&D talents in MEMS-related fields—establishing特色 courses, planning and building specialized laboratories, developing program websites, and organizing related seminars to disseminate teaching成果.
(3) Resource integration and sharing—integrating equipment and teaching materials into shared laboratories for collaborative R&D use by interested University personnel.
(4) Promoting mechatronics-integrated creative engineering education—integrating existing creative teaching courses and equipment and extending them into MEMS technology fields.
(5) Promoting collaborative development among the Central Taiwan Science Park, local medical institutions, and nationwide industry–academia sectors—actively connecting domestic and international institutions for exchange and collaboration to enhance MEMS research and development capabilities within the Central Taiwan Science Park.
As the integration of opto-electro-mechanical technologies continues to expand, MEMS has become a critical key technology in smart machinery, biomedical applications, and the electrical industry. The Center maintains ongoing collaborations with industries in central Taiwan, including HIWIN Technologies Corp., Quanbao Industrial Co., National Taiwan University Hospital Yunlin Branch, China Medical University in Taichung, and internationally renowned universities and research institutions (such as the Indian Institute of Science (IIS) and the Russian Academy of Sciences). These collaborations support the development of smart monitoring equipment, high value-added mechanical components and machinery, home healthcare solutions, and monitoring assistive devices for chronic diseases. In recent years, Center faculty have received numerous honors, including the Outstanding Engineering Professor Award from the Chinese Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Outstanding Engineering Professor Award from the Chinese Institute of Engineers, multiple Best Paper Awards at international conferences, and multiple World Invention and Product Innovation Awards. Developed products have received the National Industry–Academia Master Award and the National Innovation Award, while further expanding cross-border collaborations to realize local R&D with international impact.
