(2023) The Times Higher Education (THE) announced the "Impact Rankings 2023", with more than 1,500 universities from 112 countries participating in the evaluation based on 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) . National Dong Hwa University (NDHU) was ranked 301-400^th in the world, an improvement of nearly 100 places, and tied for 10^th among the 45 universities in Taiwan that participated in the evaluation. Both its ranking in Taiwan and in the world have grown compared to last year, reflecting NDHU's continuous efforts in university education.

President of the University, Dr. Han-Chieh Chao, led all faculty and students to promote various sustainable development initiatives and fulfill the university's social responsibility. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to create positive development for the environment and society, achieve human well-being, justice, and equality across generations, and ultimately achieve co-prosperity and coexistence at the regional, national, and global levels.

Universities play an important role as leaders in social progress, thus we can say that Higher education in the future is not just about exams and scores. NDHU effectively uses resources and overcomes geographical barriers to actively connect with the international community and create world-class education quality and vision for Hualien-Taitung region and Taiwan society. With limited funding, it creates a campus of the highest standards while driving regional development, caring for local communities, innovating and nurturing local enterprises. These efforts have also enabled the University to rank among the top 100 globally in two categories in the Impact Rankings:

●67^th in the world and 3^rd in Taiwan for SDG 15 Life on Land

●98^th in the world and 5^th in Taiwan for SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

At the same time, NDHU has five indicators ranked among the top 101-200 in the world:

●Tied for 4^th in Taiwan for SDG 17 Partnerships for the goals

●Tied for 8^th in Taiwan for SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

●Tied for 4^th in Taiwan for SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

●Tied for 3^rd in Taiwan for SDG 2 Zero Hunger

●Tied for 2^nd in Taiwan for SDG 14 Life Below Water

NDHU is fully committed to campus innovation and sustainable development. In recent years, it has actively promoted the construction of solar photovoltaic facilities and the "SDGs Sustainable Campus Plan". Although its geographical location was once shunned by merchants, it has actively overcome various obstacles. To date, its installed solar photovoltaic capacity has exceeded 3.4 MW (million watts) , accounting for 3% of total power generation by schools at all levels nationwide, ranking first in Taiwan.

In response to global sustainable development actions and international trends, NDHU has proposed a blueprint for its sustainable development vision by 2030 based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) , covering teaching research, university social responsibility, international connections, and school management. This will make NDHU a sustainable campus that is friendly, diverse, inclusive, and sustainable. To achieve these goals, under the President's strong promotion, a "Sustainable Development Office" was established in 2020 and upgraded to a "Sustainable Development Committee" in 2022. It includes NDHU Student Union as well as academic units and more administrative units to help all faculty members understand the United Nations' sustainable development goals.

One of the sister universities of NDHU in Australia, Western Sydney University, once again ranked first in this year's Impact Rankings. This year NDHU invited the Vice-Chancellor of Western Sydney University, Professor Yi-Chen Lan, to share with NDHU's management on sustainable development issues. It hopes to learn from the best universities in the world through exchange of ideas. NDHU is proud to establish collaboration with Western Sydney University, which has rightfully earned its top ranking.

NDHU regards internationalization as a key focus for future development. It encourages students to learn independently while cultivating good character and an international perspective through innovative cross-disciplinary learning. In the recently announced "WURI Ranking 2023" world rankings, NDHU ranked 46^th globally in "Top 50 - Student Mobility and Openness" category; it ranked 89^th globally in "Global Top 100 Innovative Universities" category. The President, Dr. Han-Chieh Chao specially thanked all units for their efforts. NDHU will become a base for Taiwan's internationalization and innovative development while providing top-notch education quality; it will continue its international exchange with international partners to enhance its global impact.