Evaluation Analysis

Under the incentives of the ATU Project, NTU has successfully implemented a series of major administrative reforms during 2006-2007 and significantly enhanced the overall cohesiveness of the University. These physical changes to the school are set to have a deep impact on its further development and will serve to accelerate the pace of NTU's progress towards excellence. To begin with, and as is shown on the graphs below, NTU's research results have been growing steadily year by year in both quantitative and qualitative terms. At the same time, the ranking of NTU on the academic ranking of world universities put together by Jiaotong University in Shanghai rose from 181st in 2006 to 172nd in 2007, the highest ranking of any institution in China/Taiwan/HongKong. The list of the world's 200 top universities compiled by the UK Times also saw NTU boost its ranking from 114th in 2005 to 108th in 2006. These figures illustrate the impact of NTU's diligent eff orts to strive for the top.

Second, it is noteworthy that a schoolwide consensus has been reached with respect to our pursuit of excellence. The expectations of Taiwan society with respect to our school as shown in the ATU Project are widely acknowledged on campus and have had an impact on the school's new Organizational Charter that came formally into force August 1st, 2007. The most important change in this new document is the reduction in size of the University Council Meeting from a membership of 379 to 167; other changes of note refl ecting topical issues such as academic research, internationalization and financial management include the change of name of the Research and Development Council to Office of Research and Development, the upgrade of the Center for International Academic Exchange to Office of International Affairs, and the establishment of a new Office of Finance. These various reforms represent important milestones in the University's renewal.

The third major achievement is in the centripetal cohesion of our alumni. Compared to major universities of the West, where alumni donations constitute major endowment funding for school aff airs, universities in Taiwan can be seen to lag some distance behind. Under the impetus of the ATU Project, however, NTU alumni have demonstrated a strong sense of identity with their alma mater and made a signal eff ort to increase donations to the school. In 2007, small donations by some 1,185 alumni amounted to NT$53,793,074, while over the past two years major donations have addressed the construction of three new buildings, a cancer prevention center and a proton therapy center. In terms of communication among NTU graduates, meanwhile, active networking over the past few years has built up an alumni roster of some 80,000 names.

A fourth item of note is the positive endorsement of NTU's educational performance and research outcomes by the non-academic sector and the trust we have earned. This observation is supported by the increase in external funding that has been granted to support research activities. The funds made available under the ATU Project have in no way diminished our researchers' zest to seek funding externally; the contrary is in fact true. The improvements we have been able to make to our basic environment through the ATU funding have in fact signifi cantly bolstered faith in our ability to produce outstanding research, and funding made available through cooperative research programs has increased, rising some 10.42% from NT$4.8 billion in 2005 to NT$5.3 billion in 2006. Compared to the NT$4.2 billion available in 2004, the increase over two years amounted to 26.19%. In addition, private-sector funding by industry of specifi c research projects has grown exponentially while donations to support student scholarships have also vastly increased.

These various achievements amply illustrate the multiple positive effects the ATU Project has brought to NTU, and this benefi cial loop is sure to yield even more prominent successful outcomes as Phase 2 of the Project is implemented over the coming three years.