To encourage diverse student development and foster innovative talent, NTU launched the Trans-disciplinary Bachelor Degree Program (TBD) in 2022. Currently, 54 students are enrolled, with each designing a personalized curriculum and learning pathway centered around a self-defined project focus. TBD students explore a wide range of topics spanning healthcare, education, sustainability, physics, and various other fields.
For instance, Wan-Chen Hsiao focused on "Sustainable Forest Education" and dedicated herself to developing and refining educational curricula that promote forest sustainability. She connected community resources, established demonstration sites for forest education, and organized workshops to help participants understand and engage with forests—efforts that earned her the Hotai Motor Dreamfighter Award. Similarly, Huai-Pu Chen chose “OCEANxTECH” as his project, with the ambition of becoming an ocean science adventurer. Recognizing that navigation technology is fundamental to marine research, he sailed across the Pacific Ocean using a sailboat and, by the end of 2024, successfully completed a North Atlantic crossing—an extreme challenge. He was also Taiwan's first youth delegate to the "Our Ocean" Global Conference.
TBD’s curriculum design focuses on practical engagement, enabling students to build interdisciplinary knowledge and self-directed learning capabilities through hands-on problem-solving and exploration. By confronting real-world challenges, TBD students are equipped to navigate a rapidly changing society and tackle complex issues, demonstrating the limitless potential of transdisciplinary education (TBD website: https://tbd.ntu.edu.tw).
Each semester, TBD organizes a poster exhibition, where students showcase their achievements and share their educational journeys.
Wan-Chen Hsiao organized the "Forest Journey" program—an immersive initiative that combines forest sustainability with outdoor education. She collaborated with local partners in Daxi, Taoyuan, to host tree-climbing activities, allowing participants to gain hands-on experience in forest education.
Huai-Pu Chen took on the challenge of sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, consistently expanding the frontiers of Taiwan's maritime accomplishments.