§ History

Biotechnology is considered as one of the most promising high-tech industries in the 21^st century. The scope includes pharmaceutical industry, agriculture, food industry, specialized industry, energy industry and pollution prevention and control, and its origin initiated from pharmaceutical research.

  Our school is located in an agriculture-dominated Pingtung County. The agriculture, fishery and animal husbandry industries are particularly industrialized. However, the results of the vigorous development have led to land reclamation, overuse and pollution of water resources, and abuse of pesticides and antibiotics.

Our school belongs to the Technological and Vocational Education system, with an obligation to integrate local industries and assist in R & D problem solving. In order to further promote and enhance the R & D capability of the county's agriculture, fishery and animal husbandry industries and cultivate talents, the school has plan to set up a "Pharmaceutical Science and Technology Institute", which can fully utilize resources of the university and surrounding industries. In addition, local industries will flourish by reducing the occurrence of pollution problems, and then for the country to develop intermediate outstanding scientific and technological personnel.

  This Institute was first approved by the Ministry of Education in February 1990 and student enrollment started from 1993. This Institute was the second established institute in Tajen University.

§ Educational objectives

Corresponding to the national policy of medicine and the development of biotechnology, our goals aim to educate students to become intellectuals in pharmaceutical science and technology, and to develop suitable pharmaceutical specialists for the pharmaceutical industry, including the development and manufacture of biotech drugs, consistent with the international drug development trend.

§ Distinguishing features

Our major research interests include pharmaceutical technology, development and modernization of Chinese herbal medicine, R & D and manufacture of biotech drugs, and research on synthetic drugs, etc.

In terms of curriculum design, apart from offering courses in specialized fields, students from various fields are required to attend common courses in biotechnology to accommodate for the development of biotechnology in Taiwan. This Institute provides the most comprehensive pharmacy education and research personnel expertise.

The following five objectives will be moved toward research and development:

1. Chinese herbal medicine development and modernization

2. Micro-analysis of drugs and poisons

3. Drug synthesis and development

4. Pharmaceutical technology improvements

5. R & D and manufacturing of biotech drugs

§ Academic system

The study period for master degree is 2-4 years, recruitment with general students (including specially selected students) and students with full-time employment.

§ Faculty

The Department has 27 faculty with doctoral and master's degrees in various fields of pharmacy, including 11 professors, 11 associate professors, 4 assistant professors and 1 lecturer. Among them, 23 have doctoral degrees with a very strong faculty structure.

§ Equipment and Facilities

All the equipment and facilities of this Institute are shared with the Department of Pharmacy. In addition to research offices for faculty, there are Chinese herbal medicine science and technology research center, laboratory animal management center, professional computer laboratory and audio-visual classrooms. In the expensive instrument room, the following instruments are built-in: 400 MHz NMR spectrometer, Gas Chromatographic Mass Spectrometer, High Performance Liquid Chromatography apparatus, Gas Chromatography apparatus, Cold Light Fluorescence Analyzer, Platelet Aggregation Analyzer, Physiological Multi-function Recorder, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), Enzyme Immunoassay Analyzer, Atomic Analyzer, Element Analyzer, Infrared Spectrophotometers, Ultraviolet-Visible Spectrophotometers, Expansion Coefficient Analyzer, Acidity Analyzer, Ultra High Speed Centrifuge and Dissolution equipment, etc.

§ Professional Curriculum Design

The core courses of this institute cover four fields: pharmaceutical technology and pharmacy, biotechnology, pharmacognosy, and medicinal chemistry. In addition to the common biotechnology course, students can choose courses from their major field and total 14-16 required credits including seminars. The remaining credits can be selected according to their interests and necessity to choose from this school or other relevant courses from other schools.

§ Research directions and results

Our core professional faculty cover different research fields, including pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutics, natural products chemistry, Pharmaceutical analysis, pharmacokinetics, polymer chemistry, biotechnology, quality management technology, pharmacology and toxicology of Chinese medicine, etc., which can provide graduate students multiple choices. Within the last five years, our faculty members have published over two hundred professional papers, over five patents, and dozens of research and development products.

§ Future prospects

The development of pharmaceutical technology has been the priority as the national policy for many years, and in recent years the development of biotech medicine is the more prominent pharmaceutical technology but lacking enough experts. Therefore, it is urgent to educate and improve relevant personnel without delay. The establishment of this institute will start to train pharmaceutical science and technology related specialists, including various GMP quality management professionals, pharmaceutical technology professionals, drug and poison testing professionals, Chinese herbal medicine and health food products professionals, etc., and contribute to drug development and industrial production in Taiwan.