2026 THE Interdisciplinary Science Rankings: NCKU Ranks First in Taiwan, Advances Social Responsibility and Strengthens Global Connections
Written by Hsu Tsu-Yueh. Image credit to NCKU News Center.
NCKU ranked 35th in the world and first among listed Taiwanese universities in the 2026 THE Interdisciplinary Science Rankings.
National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) achieved an outstanding result in the 2026 Times Higher Education (THE) Interdisciplinary Science Rankings, announced in November. NCKU ranked 35th in the world and first among the seven Taiwanese universities listed in the global top 200. NCKU Executive Vice President Shyy-Woei Chang noted that as a comprehensive university with a full range of academic disciplines and a compact campus, NCKU has a natural advantage in promoting interdisciplinary research. Since President Meng-Ru Shen took office, interdisciplinary research has been set as one of the core directions for university development. He has repeatedly emphasized that the university must fulfill its social responsibilities and ensure that NCKU’s growth responds to national needs and contributes to society. This recognition shows that President Shen’s direction is on the right track. Moving forward, NCKU will continue to deepen its commitment to fulfilling its USR, respond to national and societal needs, and strengthen its international connections.
Executive Vice President Shyy-Woei Chang explained that solving real social problems often requires collaboration across different fields. NCKU identifies research themes linked to major societal issues and efficiently brings together teams from different colleges to work on them. In the past three years, 162 interdisciplinary research teams have continued to drive innovation. As their results gradually appear, these teams attract more external resources, creating a positive cycle and showing NCKU’s strong momentum in interdisciplinary research.
Executive Vice President Shyy-Woei Chang noted that NCKU’s strong performance comes from the joint efforts of all faculty, staff, and students.
The THE Interdisciplinary Science Rankings examines 11 indicators across three core pillars: Inputs, Process, and Outputs. Executive Vice President Shyy-Woei Chang explained that the detailed metrics under the area “Inputs” include “Interdisciplinary science research funding” and “Industry funding”. This is one of NCKU’s strengths. NCKU received a high score of 90.3 in this area. Last year, the university achieved $5.9 billion NTD in industry-academia collaboration funding, the highest in recent years, and the share of interdisciplinary research funding has also increased each year.
In the areas of “Process” and “Outputs,” NCKU also improved its performance this year, earning scores of 66.7 and 67.7, respectively. Based on the weighted calculation, NCKU’s overall average score reached 71.8, an improvement of 6.1 points from last year. The university also moved up eight places in the overall ranking.
The detailed metrics under the area “Process” include “Measure of success”, “Physical facilities”, “Admin support”, and “Promotion process”.
The detailed metrics under the area “Outputs” include “Number of interdisciplinary science research publications”, “Proportion of interdisciplinary science research publications”, “Utility out of discipline”, “Quality of interdisciplinary science research”, and “Reputation”.
Executive Vice President Shyy-Woei Chang noted that the detailed indicators show that NCKU’s strong performance comes from the joint efforts of all faculty, staff, and students. Since its founding, the university has been closely connected to national needs. This tradition, which will soon reach a century of history, has built a strong foundation for interdisciplinary research. Over the years, NCKU has established multiple interdisciplinary research centers in response to major national needs, including disaster prevention, public health, space technology, national defense, and cybersecurity. These centers have shaped the solid base of NCKU’s interdisciplinary research.
As global competition in higher education grows stronger, standing still means falling behind. NCKU must continue building on its existing strengths, while also integrating and expanding its interdisciplinary capabilities. The university will work to secure more external resources and produce research outcomes with strong impact and global competitiveness. Executive Vice President Shyy-Woei Chang emphasized that NCKU must first set the right direction and work together to solve major global challenges, such as energy saving and carbon reduction, climate change, and energy transformation. He added that NCKU will also move forward with internationalization, extend research topics to the global level, attract leading international teams to collaborate, and strengthen talent development.
Provider:
NCKU News Center
Date:
2025-12-10
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