On May 15, UniRank released the ‘2023 Top Buddhist Universities in the World’ ranking. Nanhua University has been ranked in the past four consecutive years, and this year we are ranked 10th worldwide and 1st in Taiwan. This outstanding achievement is testament to the vision of the leadership of Nanhua University in pursuing academic excellence. President Tsong-Ming Lin said: “Cultivating talent through education” is one of the goals of the founder of Fo Guang Shan, Venerable Master Hsin-Yun. The establishment of a university with Buddhist values has always been the wish of Venerable Master Hsing-Yun. He called upon his followers to show their support by participating in a “Million-member Fundraising Campaign”, through which Nanhua University was founded. In addition to the founding of Nanhua University in Chiayi, Venerable Master Hsing-Yun founded four other universities around the world. These include: Fo Guang University, University of the West (USA), Nan Tien Institute (Australia), and Guang Ming College (The Philippines). These universities form part of the ‘Fo Guang Shan University Consortium’, which is the first transnational, intercontinental university alliance in Taiwan. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, from 2016-2020, the Consortium hosted the ‘Fo Guang Shan University Presidents Forum’ in which representatives of Buddhist universities in Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Australasia were invited to share their views on how Buddhist universities can incorporate Buddhist thoughts and spirituality into the curricula. Other topics included how to cultivate talents based on Buddhist philosophy with the goal of advancing higher education with Buddhist values.
Nanhua University is once again honored to be ranked in the ‘Top Buddhist Universities in the World’ ranking at 10th place this year. The University will continue to advance life education and sustainable development as the primary focus of our strategic goals, and forge a path toward ensuring that Nanhua is a provider of higher education for now and beyond. The University has been widely recognized for the promotion of life education and the Three Acts of Goodness initiative on campus. Our alumni have also received widespread praise for their contribution to society. In the midst of a low birthrate crisis, Nanhua University has been able to maintain a high overall freshman registration rate, which demonstrates the University’s standing among private tertiary institutions and the ability to attract prospective students.