Feng Chia University

History

In 1961, the Feng Chia College of Engineering and Business was established on Guanyin Mountain in Beitun District of Taichung City. Two years later it was moved to its present location in Xitun District in central Taiwan. University status was granted in 1980 and the name changed to Feng Chia University (FCU). For over 50 years, FCU has steadily increased in size and scope. Currently, it comprises eight schools and colleges: the School of Management Development, and the colleges of Engineering, Business, Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, Information and Electrical Engineering, Construction and Development, and Finance. There are 33 academic departments (excluding undeclared honors programs), four independent graduate institutes and three independent doctoral programs. In total, FCU offers 57 Bachelor’s, 76 Master’s and 14 doctoral degree programs. Over 20,000 students are currently enrolled in undergraduate, Master’s degree, doctoral degree and master's degree programs for working professionals. There are 2,200 faculty and administrative staff and over 160,000 alumni. Since 2008, surveys of executives from Taiwan’s top 1,000 enterprises have consistently ranked FCU in the top 10 for the quality of its graduates.

The long-term vision for FCU is to establish itself as a prestigious Asia Pacific university characterized by excellence in education and breakthrough research. FCU, furthermore, strives to cultivate the next generation of leaders by maintaining a broad world-view and equipping students with professional knowledge and skills, and an appreciation for the arts and humanities.

Between 2005 and 2013, FCU was consistently awarded substantial grants for its excellence in teaching and learning projects. For five of those years, FCU received the largest grants for excellence in teaching and learning projects of any university in Taiwan. In addition, all 17 engineering-related academic departments have received IEET accreditation. In 2012, FCU became the only comprehensive university in Taiwan to receive a 100% passage rate for all Ministry of Education-evaluated administrative units, academic departments and graduate institutes. It is also the only comprehensive university in Taiwan with the distinction of receiving a Ministry of Education commendation for excellence in administrative affairs.

FCU research papers in the fields of engineering, materials science and engineering and computer science have been included among the top 1% of published research papers in the Essential Science Indicators (ESI) database. In 2008, the APEC Research Center for Advanced Biohydrogen Technology was established on the FCU campus. In 2009, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) designated the Geographic Information Systems Research Center as the first Asian standards testing center, as well as one of 20 official principal members. FCU has also had great success in terms of industry-academia collaborations and has completed research and development on a number of commercial products, as well as actively encourages faculty and students to set up their own businesses. Through its patent licensing and technology transfer programs, FCU has created many business opportunities. It is also only the third university in Taiwan to complete and receive marks of excellence on five National Science Council technology transfer projects.

In 2012, FCU was ranked among the top 100 global “emerging” universities in a survey published in the UK’s The Times Higher Education Supplement. This survey was based on 13 performance indicators, including academic prestige, educational quality, research projects, internationalization efforts and industry-academia collaborations. In 2013, FCU was listed among Asia’s top 100 universities by the same publication in its inaugural Asia University Rankings.

FCU has a history of more than half a century. Over the next 50 years, an environmentally friendly, green campus will be constructed. In the design of its new Shuinan campus, sustainability concepts will be incorporated to complement the development of the Taichung Gateway District and College Town. The goal is to become a campus with low carbon emissions, thereby fulfilling FCU’s environmental and conservation responsibilities.

Present

The university has 20,000 graduate and undergraduate students yearly in its nine colleges of Engineering, Business, Sciences, Construction and Development, Information and Electrical Engineering, Finance, Humanities and Social Sciences, School of Management and Development, School of Technology and Management. There are 33 academic departments (excluding undeclared honors programs), four independent graduate institutes and three independent doctoral programs.

In total, FCU offers 57 Bachelor's, 76 Master's and 14 doctoral degree programs. Since 2008, surveys of executives from Taiwan’s top 1,000 enterprises have consistently ranked FCU in the top 10 for the quality of its graduates.

FCU research papers in the fields of engineering, materials science and engineering and computer science have been included among the top 1% of published research papers in the Essential Science Indicators (ESI) database. In 2008, the APEC Research Center for Advanced Biohydrogen Technology was established on the FCU campus. In 2009, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) designated the Geographic Information Systems Research Center as the first Asian standards testing center, as well as one of 20 official principal members.

FCU has also had great success in terms of industry-academia collaborations and has completed research and development on a number of commercial products, as well as actively encourages faculty and students to set up their own businesses. Through its patent licensing and technology transfer programs, FCU has created many business opportunities. It is also only the third university in Taiwan to complete and receive marks of excellence on five National Science Council technology transfer projects.

Academics

FCU has continually sought to carry out breakthrough research and to cultivate interdisciplinary research teams to elevate its R&D capabilities. There are 37 specialized research centers on campus, including the Green Energy Development Center, Geographic Information Systems Research Center, Construction and Disaster Prevention Research Center, Information and Communication Security Research Center and Center for Tang Dynasty Culture. Every year, these centers carry out research and participate in industry-academia collaborative projects, the collective value of which ranks at the top of Taiwan’s universities. In addition, these projects provide valuable information for scholars and important contributions to society.

FCU recruits outstanding scholars from Taiwan and abroad. In the past three years, more than 40 chair professors have joined the faculty. They include Chin-Chen Chang, who is considered Taiwan’s father of cryptography, and Chung-Jen Hsu, former general manager of Uni-President Enterprises Corporation and the godfather of Taiwan’s logistics industry. Professor Chang is ranked number two in the world for the number of published research papers that have been included in the computer science database of the Digital Bibliography & Library Projects (DBLP).

The Green Energy Development Center has developed an anaerobic bioreactor. This bioreactor yields 151/hr biogas from every liter of anaerobic sludge, making it one of the best performing bioreactors in the world. Due to these and other achievements, FCU was chosen as the site for the APEC Research Center for Advanced Biohydrogen Technology, which was established in cooperation with APEC and the National Science Council. In addition, the Taiwan branch of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy (IAHE) has been established on the FCU campus. In 2011, FCU completed the world’s first Bio-H2 gas station. The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Research Center has twice been honored by the US-based Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) with a Special Achievement in GIS award. In 2010, this research center was invited to join the European Union’s Plan4All project; among its 25 collaborative partners, FCU was the only academic organization from Taiwan. In that same year, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) approved the GIS Research Center as its first software standards compliance testing center in Asia. It was also named one of 20 OGC principal members.

　　The Construction and Disaster Prevention Research Center brings together talent from the fields of civil engineering, hydraulic engineering, water resources engineering and conservation and geographic information systems. This center has developed various technologies with applications for environmental conservation, slope land disaster prevention, and environmental monitoring. It also serves as a long-term partner of the National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction, providing support for local government disaster prevention and rescue efforts. This center participated in the rebuilding efforts that followed Typhoon Morakot and received awards for its contributions and achievements from the Executive Yuan. In cooperation with Renmin University of China, the Center for the Tang Dynasty Culture spent six years proofreading and editing the “Quan Tangfu (The Complete Tang Odes)”. The Center’s edited version of this important ancient Chinese compilation has been included in many library collections in Europe, North America, Japan and Korea, thus putting this research center on the map for the caliber of its Tang Dynasty research.

Rankings

In 2016, FCU the top private comprehensive university in the 2016 QS Asia University Rankings.

In 2016, FCU honored with number one ranking in the Ministry of Education’s Program for Promoting Teaching Excellence.

In 2016, Cheers magazine once again honored FCU with top spot in its annual ranking of public and private universities.

In 2016, FCU was ranked among Asia University Rankings on 140th by the Quacquarelli Symonds.

In 2015, Feng Chia University ranked ninth in Twiwan and 78th in Asia in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2015 - Computer Science & Information Systems.

In 2015, FCU once again ranks as the top private comprehensive university in the QS Asia University Rankings.

In 2015, FCU was ranked among Asia University Rankings on 171th by the Quacquarelli Symonds. And the individual subject world rankings from QS put FCU on 317th in Computer Science.

In 2014, FCU rated in the top hundred in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (BRICS and Emerging Economies Ranking).

In 2014, FCU was ranked among Asia University Rankings on 153th by the Quacquarelli Symonds. And the individual subject world rankings from QS put FCU on 106th in Accounting & Finance.

In 2013, FCU was ranked among Asia’s top 100 universities by the UK's The Times Higher Education Supplement.

In 2012, FCU was ranked among the top 100 global "Emerging" universities in a survey published in the UK's The Times Higher Education Supplement.

Notable alumni