Department of Life Science 生命科學系

Background

Our university has established a sister-school relationship with the University of Hawai‘i. In 2013, the College of Science, led by former Dean Lu Guang-Hui, organized an academic exchange visit to the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa on O‘ahu and Hilo campus on the Big Island. On January 16-31, 2019, former Dean Lu Guang-Hui was invited to lead another delegation from the Department of Life Sciences to visit the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. During this visit, discussions were held with Dean Nicholas Comerford and faculty members regarding future academic collaboration plans between the two institutions. From January 15-22, 2020, our university and the University of Hawai‘i (Mānoa campus) initiated discussions on a transnational dual-degree 3+2 program (three years of undergraduate study at our university and two years of graduate study at the University of Hawai‘i), and the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was officially signed in March 2021.

Wei-Hsuan Chung, a student from our Department of Life Sciences, successfully applied for the transnational 3+2 program and began his graduate studies in the Animal Science program at the University of Hawai‘i in 2023. In the same year, the International Office of the University of Hawai‘i reached out, expressing interest from their Department of Atmospheric Sciences in discussing the feasibility of a dual-degree program with our Department of Atmospheric Sciences.

In 2024, the University of the Ryukyus hosted the “Inter-Island Sustainable Development Education Program” international conference. Representing our university, Director Wu from the Department of Life Sciences and Director Ching-Huang Liu from the Department of Atmospheric Sciences attended the conference held at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. During the conference, Professor Miku Lenentine from Kapiʻolani Community College extended an invitation for our department to visit their institution.

This visit aims to establish a long-term exchange model with the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and Kapiʻolani Community College, fostering closer and more diverse collaborations between departments across institutions.

Visit Process

The delegation, consisting of Director Shy-Meeng Wu from the Department of Life Sciences, Director Ching-Huang Liu from the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, and Assistant Shu-Ling Hsiao from the Department of Life Sciences, visited several units at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, including the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, the Department of Atmospheric Science, the Department of Life Science, the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, and the Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering (MBBE). Additionally, they visited Kapiʻolani Community College, which is part of the University of Hawai‘i system. The discussions primarily focused on faculty research collaborations and the development of transnational degree programs.

Dean Grewal hosting a roundtable discussion	Group photo with faculty from the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
Group photo with student Wei-Hsuan Chung	Lecture by Professor Ching-Huang Liu
Group photo with faculty and students from the Department of Atmospheric Sciences	Meeting with the Dean of the College of Science and the Director of the Department of Life Sciences
Discussion with Director Yang regarding research collaboration and the 2+2 program	Discussion with Director Nerurkar and Professor Borthakur regarding the 3+2 program
Group photo with Professor Miku Lenentine	Visit to Professor Chen’s research team
Discussion with Cy S. Feng from the International Exchange Center regarding exchange programs and the 2+2 dual-degree program	Meeting with Professor Qing X. Li

Outcomes

The Department of Life Sciences and MBBE plan to sign a 3+2 master's program agreement in 2026.

The two universities’ Atmospheric Science departments plan to establish a 3+2 master's program agreement in 2025.

In 2025, Chinese Culture University and Kapiʻolani Community College plan to sign an MOU and MOA for the 2+2 dual-degree program.