The opening ceremony of the Bioscience and Biotechnology Complex, which cost NTD 600 million and took 4 years to build, took place on September 20. The once separated teaching and R&D departments of the College of Bioscience and Biotechnology are finally together, which will allow them to engage in closer cross-disciplinary exchanges and collaborations in the future, accumulate more energy for innovative R&D, and play a crucial role in next-generation bioscience research and industry development. At the opening ceremony, the World Vegetable Center, an international organization, signed an academic collaboration memorandum with NCKU. The two parties will establish collaboration mechanisms for academic exchanges, new technology development, and talent cultivation.

The field of bioscience is applicable to a wide range of disciplines, including animal and plant science, food safety and hygiene, medicine, chemical industry, and environmental conservation. Biomedicine is one of the industries of focus in the Taiwanese government’s 5+2 Industrial Transformation Plan. NCKU President Dr. Huey-Jen Jenny Su explained that biomedicine also has a foundation in Taiwan’s agriculture and aquaculture, their disease control, and the improvement and new species cultivation techniques for fruit, vegetables, and flowers. Further integration and innovative R&D will bring more opportunities and crucial influences.

Dr. Su pointed out that agriculture is part of life. Only with a stable food supply can we face climate change and global competition. The southern region of Taiwan is an important agricultural area, and NCKU takes part in and contributes to many aspects, such as agriculture, aquaculture, and orchid research. Technological development impacts every industry, and innovative solutions to problems can only be achieved via cross-domain integration. NCKU’s College of Bioscience and Biotechnology will use cross-domain knowledge integration and extensive thinking to cultivate talent with innovative abilities, enhance industry competitiveness, and play a crucial role in the development of society.

Dr. Su hosted the ceremony with Executive Vice Presidents Dr. Cheng-Hung Huang and Dr. Chung-I Lin, Chief Secretary Dr. Ching-Chang Lee, and dean of the College of Bioscience and Biotechnology Dr. Po-Wu Gean. Dr. Su congratulated the College of Bioscience and Biotechnology on their brand-new complex, which signifies the beginning of a new phase for the College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, and hoped that they would perform well and make more contributions in their intercollegiate collaborations. After the ceremony, Dr. Su and World Vegetable Center Deputy Director General represented their respective parties and signed the collaboration memorandum. Future collaborations will include choosing suitable topics for joint research to enhance each other’s R&D energy. The World Vegetable Center will give NCKU students opportunities to take part in the research and offer degree courses to students of the College of Bioscience and Biotechnology to cultivate international talent.

Construction on the Bioscience and Biotechnology Complex began in November, 2013, and it obtained its occupation permit in 2017. The complex comprises two buildings, a twelve-story building for administration, research, and laboratories and a four-story building specifically for teaching. The purpose of the height different between the two buildings was keep the complex from looking out of place and help it merge with the environment. Each retreating rooftop of the four-story building has scaffolds that wind high and low, almost like the double helix of DNA. This creates a biotechnological imagery and architectural features. Another highlight of the complex is the Innovative Teaching Space – Hook Classroom, which has a multi-functional design that can be used for teaching and holding events, exhibitions, or workshops. The classroom also features a large collect of rare shells donated by Mu-Chung Kao, an alumnus of the Department of Mechanical Engineering from the Class of 1971. This collection is rare even among other colleges of bioscience and biotechnology, and it will be used to promote scientific knowledge in community education.

Dr. Gean observed that although the College of Bioscience and Biotechnology is NCKU’s youngest and most energetic college, it has already made many significant research achievements in areas such as the cultivation and breeding of grouper, shrimp disease control and breeding, and orchid genome sequencing and de-sequencing. The college has not only made great academic accomplishments but also connected its research with local industries and enhanced their competitiveness. The Marine Biology and Cetacean Research Center has been promoting conservation for marine life and cetaceans, and many of their research achievements regarding climate change and ecology have been published in international journals. With its current foundation, the College of Bioscience and Biotechnology has been working with organizations such as the Biotechnology Center of the Academia Sinica in Southern Taiwan, the Southern Taiwan Science Park, and the Taiwan Orchid Plantation in education and research and with the College of Medicine to develop medical biotechnology. The biotechnology development at NCKU is closely tied with urban development and continues to encompass innovative transnational research.

Founded in 2005, NCKU’s College of Bioscience and Biotechnology initially comprised one department and two graduate institutes: the Department of Life Sciences, the Institute of Biotechnology, and the Institute of Biodiversity. It now includes the Department of Life Sciences, the Department of Biotechnology and Bioindustry Sciences, the Institute of Tropical Plant Sciences, and the AS Graduate Program in Translational Agricultural Sciences. All members of the College of Bioscience and Biotechnology have long awaited this complex, and with its completion, the once separated departments and institutes are now together in the same complex, which will have a positive impact on teaching and research.