NYUST Department of Cultural Heritage Conservation Partners with Gukeng Township Farmers’ Association Promotion Division to Co-Create a New Vision for Local Agricultural Culture
To strengthen the preservation and promotion of local agricultural culture while fostering closer integration between academic expertise and community practice, the Department of Cultural Heritage Conservation at National Yunlin University of Science and Technology (NYUST) and the Promotion Division of the Gukeng Township Farmers’ Association formally signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the afternoon of April 28, 2026. This agreement establishes both parties as official partners in industry–academia collaboration. Future cooperation will be based on Gukeng’s rich agricultural and cultural resources, focusing on cultural preservation, industrial revitalization, talent cultivation, and related technological development, with the shared goal of injecting new momentum into local development.
Gukeng Township is widely known for its coffee production, agricultural settlements, and distinctive mountain-town culture. Its agricultural practices not only represent productive activity but also embody generations of lived experience and local identity. The Department of Cultural Heritage Conservation at NYUST has long been dedicated to cultural heritage preservation and revitalization. This collaboration with the Gukeng Township Farmers’ Association Promotion Division seeks to integrate academic research with practical experience to systematically preserve the region’s agricultural cultural heritage while exploring its diverse future applications.
Both parties will integrate professional expertise, teaching and research capacity, and relevant resources and facilities to establish a stable and long-term cooperative relationship. In terms of academic research and talent development, the partnership will promote researcher exchanges, jointly organize educational outreach activities, share academic and industry information, and develop concrete collaborative projects. These efforts aim to ensure that academic research is more closely aligned with local needs while enabling community-based knowledge to enrich academic development.
In practical training, the Department of Cultural Heritage Conservation may apply to the Gukeng Township Farmers’ Association Promotion Division to arrange student internships, field research, and thesis projects within the local context. The Farmers’ Association will provide real-world agricultural and cultural settings along with frontline practical experience. Through sustained engagement and observation, students will enhance their professional skills while deepening their understanding and appreciation of local culture and agriculture, thereby realizing the educational philosophy of “learning by doing and doing by learning.”
The Department of Cultural Heritage Conservation emphasized that this collaboration represents more than the integration of academic and industry resources; it is also a meaningful dialogue between cultural preservation and local development. Through this partnership with the Gukeng Township Farmers’ Association Promotion Division, agricultural culture is envisioned not merely as a memory of the past, but as a vital force connecting education, industry, and community. Looking ahead, both parties will continue to deepen their cooperation and jointly work toward shaping a culturally rich and sustainably developed future for Gukeng.
