National Cheng Kung University facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
National Cheng Kung University

國立成功大學
Seal of NCKU
Motto	窮理致知
Motto in English	Pursuit of truth through exhaustive reasoning
Type	Public research university
Established	1931
Endowment	641 million (2013)
President	Shen Meng-ru
Academic staff	2,175
Undergraduates	12,010
Postgraduates	10,815
Location	Tainan , Taiwan
Campus	Main campus in urban Tainan and satellite campuses in rural Tainan areas.
Colors	Red  Grey  White
Affiliations	T4 NSTC WUN AACSB IEET UAiTED
Website	English, Chinese
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	国立成功大学
Traditional Chinese	國立成功大學
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Guólì Chénggōng Dàxué Bopomofo ㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄌㄧˋ ㄔㄥˊ ㄍㄨㄥ ㄉㄚˋ ㄒㄩㄝˊ Wade–Giles Kuo2-li4 Ch'eng2-kung1 Ta4-hsüeh2 Tongyong Pinyin Guólì Chénggōng Dàsyué Southern Min Hokkien POJ Kok-li̍p Sêng-kong-tāi-ha̍k

National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) is a big public university in Tainan, Taiwan. It's a place where students go to learn and do important research. NCKU started in 1931 as an engineering school. It is one of the oldest universities in Taiwan.

Today, about 12,000 undergraduate students and 10,000 postgraduate students study here. They learn about engineering, science, medicine, and design. NCKU is part of a group of top research universities in Taiwan. It is also the only university from Taiwan in the Worldwide Universities Network, which connects universities around the world. The main campus in Tainan has a hospital and a museum.

In 2005, Taiwan's Ministry of Education chose NCKU as one of seven universities for a special project. This project helps top universities become even better. Because of its strong academics and research, NCKU received a lot of funding from the Ministry of Education for five years, starting in 2006. This funding helped the university grow and improve.

A Look at NCKU's History

National Cheng Kung University began in January 1931. At that time, Taiwan was under Japanese rule, and the school was called Tainan Technical College. After Japan handed Taiwan back in October 1945, the school's name changed a few times. In March 1946, it became Taiwan Provincial Tainan Junior College of Technology. Later that year, it was renamed Taiwan Provincial College of Engineering.

When the government of the Republic of China moved to Taiwan in 1949, this school was one of only three colleges there. As more colleges opened, it became a provincial university in 1956. It was named Provincial Cheng Kung University after Koxinga. He was a famous general who helped drive out the Dutch from Taiwan. In 1971, the university became a national university and got its current name, National Cheng Kung University.

Exploring NCKU's Campuses

NCKU is located in Tainan City, Taiwan. The main campus is very easy to reach, right across from the Tainan Railway Station. NCKU has 11 campuses in the greater Tainan area. These campuses cover a large area, about 187 hectares of land. They include names like Cheng-Kung, Sheng-Li, and Kuang-Fu. Some areas are also used for student dormitories.

National Cheng Kung University Main Library

On January 12, 2011, a special building opened at NCKU. It's called the Y. S. Sun Green Building Research Center. This building is the first "zero carbon" building in Taiwan. It's also the first green educational center in the world. It was built to be very energy efficient. It uses natural air flow, limited electricity, and special lighting to save energy. This helps it produce no carbon emissions.

How NCKU is Organized

NCKU is made up of 9 main colleges. These colleges include Liberal Arts, Sciences, Management, Engineering, and Medicine. Each college has its own departments and institutes. They offer many different study programs, from undergraduate degrees to doctoral degrees.

NCKU hybrid sounding rocket

The university offers 42 programs for undergraduate students. It also has 74 master's degree programs and 53 doctoral programs. Most classes are taught in Mandarin Chinese, but many are also available in English.

NCKU's Global Connections

NCKU works with many universities and institutions around the world. It has over 400 agreements with 251 different places. These agreements help students and researchers work together.

Students can also join exchange programs with 98 partner universities in other countries. Some of these include the University of Southern California and Kyoto University. In recent years, NCKU has also signed agreements with universities like KU Leuven and Purdue University for dual degree programs and online courses.

NCKU's University Rankings

NCKU is known as one of the top universities in Taiwan. Other top universities include National Taiwan University and National Tsing Hua University. In 2014, Japan's representative in Taiwan listed NCKU as one of the seven most well-known Taiwanese universities.

Global Rankings

Universities are often ranked to see how they compare globally. In 2024, NCKU was ranked 228th in the QS World University Rankings. Other rankings also place NCKU among the top universities worldwide. For example, it was ranked 601–800th in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings in 2023.

Subject Rankings

NCKU is also highly ranked in specific study areas. In 2020, the QS World University Rankings by Subject placed NCKU among the world's top 150 universities in many engineering fields. These include Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, and Chemical Engineering. It also ranked high in Computer Science, Architecture, and Environmental Studies.

The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) also recognized NCKU's strength in engineering. In 2016, it ranked NCKU 76-100th in the engineering field.

Leaders of NCKU: List of Presidents

• Wakatsuki Michitaka [zh] (January 1931 – August 1941)
• Sakuma Iwao; 佐久間巖 (August 1941 – March 1944)
• Shunsuke Suemitsu; 末光俊介 (March 1944 – October 1944)
• Saburo Kousuke; 甲婓三郎 (October 1944 – October 1945)
• Wang Shih-an [zh] (February 1946 – August 1951)
• Yeh Tung-tse (August 1951 – February 1952)
• Qing Dajun [zh] (February 1952 – July 1957)
• Yen Cheng-hsing (August 1957 – December 1964)
• Lo Yun-ping [zh] (January 1965 – July 1971)
• Ni Chao [zh] (August 1971 – July 1978)
• Wang Wei-nung [zh] (August 1978 – July 1980)
• Hsia Han-min; 夏漢民 (August 1980 – July 1988)
• Ma Che-ju; 馬哲儒 (August 1988 – July 1994)
• Wu Jin (August 1994 – June 1996)
• Huang Ting-chia; 黃定加 (July 1996 – February 1997)
• Weng Cheng-yi; 翁政義 (February 1997 – May 2000)
• Weng Hung-shan; 翁鴻山 (May 2000 – January 2001)
• Kao Chiang; 高強 (February 2001 – January 2007)
• Michael M. C. Lai (February 2007 – January 2011)
• Hwung Hwung-hweng (February 2011 – January 2015)
• Su Huey-jen; 蘇慧貞 (February 2015 – January 2023)
• Meng-Ru Shen; 沈孟儒 (Since February 2023)

Notable Faculty Members

• Wong Tsu, the first aeronautical engineer to work at Boeing.

Notable Alumni

Many successful people have studied at NCKU. Here are a few examples:

President Lai Ching-te studied at the NCKU School of Medicine and worked as a doctor at National Cheng Kung University Hospital.

• Lai Ching-te, the current President of Taiwan. He was also the Vice President before becoming President in 2024.
• Chang Chia-juch, a former Minister of Economic Affairs.
• Chen Hsiung-wen, a former Minister of Labor.
• Tze-Chiang Chen, an important scientist at IBM Research.
• Cheng Nan-jung, who studied engineering at NCKU before focusing on humanities.
• Ken P. Chong, a director at the U.S. National Science Foundation.
• Chu Ching-wu, a physicist known for his work with superconductors.
• Wei-Kan Chu, a physics professor at the University of Houston.
• Fan Chih-ku, a former Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications.
• Hsu Hsin-ying, who founded a political party.
• C. Y. Lee, who helped design Taipei 101, a very tall skyscraper.
• Wen Ho Lee, a nuclear physicist.
• Lee Wo-shih, a former leader of Kinmen County.
• Lin Hsin-i, a chairman of a research institute and president of a car company.
• Lin Yi-bing, a vice president at another national university.
• Chung Laung Liu, a computer scientist.
• Lung Ying-tai, a former Minister of Culture.
• Mao Chi-kuo, a former Premier of the Republic of China.
• Pai Hsien-yung, who studied engineering at NCKU before focusing on humanities.
• Samuel C. C. Ting, a Nobel Prize winner who attended NCKU.
• Wang Chien-shien, a former President of the Control Yuan.
• Wu Po-hsiung, a former Mayor of Taipei and chairman of a political party.
• Chen Liang-gee, a former Minister of Science and Technology.
• Dr. Irvan Bastian Arief, an expert in Artificial Intelligence (AI).

See also

In Spanish: Universidad Nacional Cheng Kung para niños

• National Cheng Kung University Hospital
• Taiwan Comprehensive University System
• List of universities in Taiwan