Soochow Partners with Yunlin County to Strengthen Local Education through Big Data

Soochow University has entered into a new partnership with the Yunlin County Government to support the development of data-driven education, marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) during the 2025 Yunlin Digital Carnival. The agreement focuses on the joint establishment of an Education Big Data and Smart Innovation AI Learning Center, aiming to enhance digital learning from elementary through senior high school.

Led by SU President Chyan-Long Jan, the SU delegation attended the event and signed the MOU with Yunlin County Magistrate Li-Shan Chang. The collaboration draws on SU’s long-standing expertise in big data analytics to help build an integrated smart learning framework across the county’s K–12 education system.

Jan noted that the university has been engaged in big data research for over a decade, beginning with the founding of its Big Data Analytics Research Center. Through this partnership, Soochow plans to support Yunlin in developing an online learning observation system based on educational data analytics, enabling teachers to better monitor student learning progress and explore new instructional approaches.

Jan also highlighted SU’s recent cross-disciplinary collaborations with NVIDIA, which have expanded opportunities for industry-oriented research and training. By extending these higher education resources to Yunlin’s elementary, junior high, and senior high schools, the university hopes to contribute to a more cohesive smart education ecosystem at the local level.

Magistrate Chang emphasized that Yunlin County has steadily advanced its smart education infrastructure, including the establishment of smart education centers, six maker and technology centers, and ongoing professional development programs for teachers. More than 2,300 classrooms have been upgraded with interactive smart boards, and a one-device-per-student policy has been fully implemented across the county.

As part of the cooperation, Yunlin will work with SU’s Big Data Analytics Research Center to develop a county-based education data repository for more precise analysis. The initiative also introduced what organizers described as Taiwan’s first online lesson observation system integrated with big data analytics, representing a new stage in the county’s smart education development.

Looking ahead, facilities at the Smart Innovation AI Learning Center will be made available not only to university students but also to senior high school learners. SU stated that it will continue offering diversified courses in AI and data science, with the goal of nurturing future talent equipped with interdisciplinary knowledge and practical innovation skills.