NUU Students Shine in Rural Return Competition with Five-Year Record of 3 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze Awards
Following the Flow of Water: From Taiwan’s Century-Old Oil Industry to a Single Jujube, NUU Students Bring Design into the Chuanlong Irrigation Channel in Gongguan and Deliver Outstanding Results
National United University (NUU) students have once again demonstrated their strength in the College Student Rural Return Competition. This year, students from the Department of Cultural Creativity and Digital Marketing and the Department of Industrial Design stepped into the rural community of Gongguan, Miaoli, using design to reconnect local history, culture, agriculture, and everyday life, and delivering remarkable results.
The Ministry of Agriculture held the “16th College Student Rural Return Competition Results Presentation and Awards Ceremony” in Taichung on September 6. A total of 53 teams, including six international teams, registered for this year’s competition. Following multiple rounds of written proposals and presentations, only 21 teams were selected to participate in the summer rural residency program. Both NUU teams advanced to the residency stage. Among them, “Hey Jujube!” from the Department of Cultural Creativity and Digital Marketing stood out from the competition, winning the highest honor, the Gold Award, with a prize of NT$150,000, as well as the Best Static Exhibition Award with a prize of NT$40,000. Chen You-Wei received the Rural Return Rising Star Award, Chang Yun-Tzu received the Creative Intelligence Award, and Dai Tzu-Chien received the Uncut Jade Award. Together with NT$120,000 in rural residency incentives, the team’s total awards and incentives this year exceeded NT$320,000.
Also based in Gongguan, Miaoli, the Department of Industrial Design team “Squat Down at Chu-Huang-Keng” was led by Professor Hung Wei-Ken and consisted of eight industrial design students. Supported by the College Student Rural Return Competition of the Rural Development and Soil and Water Conservation Agency, Ministry of Agriculture, as well as the “Shin Kong ESGX–NUU USR” project, the team spent the 2026 summer in residency at Chu-Huang-Keng. Their work covered a wide range of projects, including redesigning the entrance grocery store’s displays and visual identity, creating nighttime lighting decorations for the ground-track cable car, developing trivia content and an immersive puzzle-solving game for the Taiwan Oil Field Exhibition Hall, designing CPC Corporation, Taiwan souvenirs incorporating ceramic-piece magnets, and producing YouTube video guides for the site. The team also visited community experts and former oil-field workers to learn directly from their experiences. Through 12 marathon events held over six days, the team connected these local stories and translated the community’s unique characteristics for visitors, attracting more than 250 participants to engage with the site in depth. The project ultimately received the SDGs Sustainability Award, the Rural Residency Special Award, and one individual award, demonstrating the students’ enthusiasm and spirit of social engagement.
“Hey Jujube!” was formed by seven students from the Department of Cultural Creativity and Digital Marketing. The team established a clear division of responsibilities according to each member’s strengths: team leader Chen You-Wei coordinated the overall project; deputy leader Chang Yun-Tzu was responsible for planning; Hu Wei-Chieh focused on design and marketing; Tsai Hsin-Ni handled public relations and marketing; Dai Tzu-Chien was responsible for web design, visual communication, and photography; Lu Yeh-Chun handled photography and editing; and Chang Chia-Chen focused on structural and laser engraving design. Under the guidance of Assistant Professor Hsiung Tzu-Fei and instructor Lo Shao-Chu, the students spent nearly four months truly stepping into Gongguan, Miaoli. Following the Chuanlong Irrigation Channel, they explored the settlements of Shiqiang, Fuji, Fuxing, and surrounding areas, conducting field surveys at 27 sites, 38 field-learning walks, visits to 13 jujube orchards, 321 questionnaire surveys, and documentation of 18 local stories. Through this process, they came to understand anew the industries, culture, and everyday life behind a single jujube.
The initial survey revealed a striking gap. While 94.1% of respondents had encountered jujubes, 93.5% of those who expressed a willingness to purchase them still preferred jujubes from China. Gongguan, Miaoli, is Taiwan’s only specialized jujube-producing area, yet many young consumers still do not know where “Taiwanese jujubes come from.” In response, the team developed “Gongguan Treasure Core” and the “Finding the White Dragon Project,” seeking to rebuild awareness of the place of origin by first capturing the attention of younger generations.
Using the Chuanlong Irrigation Channel as the central narrative thread, the team reconnected the relationship among “water, land, farmers, and jujubes.” They developed the “White Dragon × Jujube” local IP, social media content, rural experiences, and food and agriculture education materials. Local knowledge that once required extensive textual explanation was transformed into creative media that people could understand, interact with, and willingly spend time with, while also being continuously used and developed by the local community. In this way, the “value” of the place is no longer defined solely by its “price” in the market.
Starting with market research and an inventory of local resources, the students carried out a series of initiatives, including fresh jujube promotion, the “JUJUBE CUP” fresh jujube snack cup, a meme creativity competition, the “Finding the White Dragon” press conference, short-form videos, and rural experience activities. They also observed posting times, reach, and video performance, putting digital marketing methods learned in the classroom to the test through a continuous cycle of “launching—tracking traffic—reviewing—adjusting.” The series of content generated nearly 40,000 views, while video content received more than 73,000 views, with total engagement reaching 7,786 interactions.
However, as their online reach gradually grew, the students began asking an even more important question: Making jujubes popular for a moment is not difficult. The real challenge is how to make the value of a place stay.
Therefore, beginning in August, the team shifted its focus further toward food and agriculture education. They brought their teaching materials into farmers’ associations, supermarkets, and after-school care centers, conducting pre-tests, trial teaching, and post-tests with first-grade elementary school students. Through teacher interviews and observations of students’ responses, they continuously revised and refined the materials. The students further developed the “White Dragon × Jujube” local IP, the “Save the Little Fish” ecological riverbed restoration teaching kit, five-senses jujube experiences, laser-cut teaching materials illustrating the jujube life cycle, and place-of-origin identification activities. Through these efforts, they sought to translate knowledge of the Chuanlong Irrigation Channel, ecology, agriculture, and local production into learning tools that children can operate with their own hands, teachers can use in class, and local communities can continue to develop. The materials are also being extended to different settings, including life curriculum classes for lower-grade elementary students, food and agriculture education, and rural tourism experiences.
For these students, cultural creativity is no longer simply about “making a product.” Instead, it has become a process of learning how to identify problems within a community, propose solutions through design, and repeatedly test those solutions in real-world settings. When the market becomes a laboratory, social media becomes a window for observation, and the classroom becomes another gateway to local knowledge, university education truly enters the land and community, allowing students’ professional skills to grow together with the places they serve.
This year marks the fifth year that Professor Hsiung Tzu-Fei has led NUU cultural creativity students in the Rural Return Competition. The team first participated in the 12th competition and won a Silver Award, followed by both Gold and Silver Awards in the 13th competition, a Bronze Award in the 14th, and another Gold Award in the 15th. This year, “Hey Jujube!” once again reached the top. Over five years, the NUU teams have accumulated three Gold Awards, two Silver Awards, and one Bronze Award, including national Gold Awards in two consecutive years.
Professor Hsiung Tzu-Fei, the team’s advisor, said, “What students ultimately learn is not how to get everything right the first time, but how to recognize when something is not good enough, return to understand the problem, and make it better.” From market research and fieldwork to marketing and trial teaching, each round of revision brought the design one step closer to real needs. It also helped students gradually move from “doing something for the community” to learning how to “do something together with the community.”
Although the competition has ended, the “Hey Jujube!” team plans to carry its food and agriculture education materials into the students’ junior-year capstone projects, continuing to test and refine them while applying for youth return-to-rural programs. The teaching materials, brand identity, and online content will also be developed toward continued use by the farmers’ association and local partners.
A competition may have an ending, but the connection between students and the community does not. From jujubes to oil fields, NUU students are stepping beyond the classroom and into the land, working alongside local residents and turning ideas into action. In doing so, the University is becoming a sustainable partner that accompanies local communities on their journey forward and creates new possibilities together.
(This article and its imagery were provided by the Department of Cultural Creativity and Digital Marketing.) September 7, 2026
National United University (NUU) students have once again demonstrated their strength in the College Student Rural Return Competition. This year, students from the Department of Cultural Creativity and Digital Marketing and the Department of Industrial Design stepped into the rural community of Gongguan, Miaoli, using design to reconnect local history, culture, agriculture, and everyday life, and delivering remarkable results.
The Ministry of Agriculture held the “16th College Student Rural Return Competition Results Presentation and Awards Ceremony” in Taichung on September 6. A total of 53 teams, including six international teams, registered for this year’s competition. Following multiple rounds of written proposals and presentations, only 21 teams were selected to participate in the summer rural residency program. Both NUU teams advanced to the residency stage. Among them, “Hey Jujube!” from the Department of Cultural Creativity and Digital Marketing stood out from the competition, winning the highest honor, the Gold Award, with a prize of NT$150,000, as well as the Best Static Exhibition Award with a prize of NT$40,000. Chen You-Wei received the Rural Return Rising Star Award, Chang Yun-Tzu received the Creative Intelligence Award, and Dai Tzu-Chien received the Uncut Jade Award. Together with NT$120,000 in rural residency incentives, the team’s total awards and incentives this year exceeded NT$320,000.
Also based in Gongguan, Miaoli, the Department of Industrial Design team “Squat Down at Chu-Huang-Keng” was led by Professor Hung Wei-Ken and consisted of eight industrial design students. Supported by the College Student Rural Return Competition of the Rural Development and Soil and Water Conservation Agency, Ministry of Agriculture, as well as the “Shin Kong ESGX–NUU USR” project, the team spent the 2026 summer in residency at Chu-Huang-Keng. Their work covered a wide range of projects, including redesigning the entrance grocery store’s displays and visual identity, creating nighttime lighting decorations for the ground-track cable car, developing trivia content and an immersive puzzle-solving game for the Taiwan Oil Field Exhibition Hall, designing CPC Corporation, Taiwan souvenirs incorporating ceramic-piece magnets, and producing YouTube video guides for the site. The team also visited community experts and former oil-field workers to learn directly from their experiences. Through 12 marathon events held over six days, the team connected these local stories and translated the community’s unique characteristics for visitors, attracting more than 250 participants to engage with the site in depth. The project ultimately received the SDGs Sustainability Award, the Rural Residency Special Award, and one individual award, demonstrating the students’ enthusiasm and spirit of social engagement.
“Hey Jujube!” was formed by seven students from the Department of Cultural Creativity and Digital Marketing. The team established a clear division of responsibilities according to each member’s strengths: team leader Chen You-Wei coordinated the overall project; deputy leader Chang Yun-Tzu was responsible for planning; Hu Wei-Chieh focused on design and marketing; Tsai Hsin-Ni handled public relations and marketing; Dai Tzu-Chien was responsible for web design, visual communication, and photography; Lu Yeh-Chun handled photography and editing; and Chang Chia-Chen focused on structural and laser engraving design. Under the guidance of Assistant Professor Hsiung Tzu-Fei and instructor Lo Shao-Chu, the students spent nearly four months truly stepping into Gongguan, Miaoli. Following the Chuanlong Irrigation Channel, they explored the settlements of Shiqiang, Fuji, Fuxing, and surrounding areas, conducting field surveys at 27 sites, 38 field-learning walks, visits to 13 jujube orchards, 321 questionnaire surveys, and documentation of 18 local stories. Through this process, they came to understand anew the industries, culture, and everyday life behind a single jujube.
The initial survey revealed a striking gap. While 94.1% of respondents had encountered jujubes, 93.5% of those who expressed a willingness to purchase them still preferred jujubes from China. Gongguan, Miaoli, is Taiwan’s only specialized jujube-producing area, yet many young consumers still do not know where “Taiwanese jujubes come from.” In response, the team developed “Gongguan Treasure Core” and the “Finding the White Dragon Project,” seeking to rebuild awareness of the place of origin by first capturing the attention of younger generations.
Using the Chuanlong Irrigation Channel as the central narrative thread, the team reconnected the relationship among “water, land, farmers, and jujubes.” They developed the “White Dragon × Jujube” local IP, social media content, rural experiences, and food and agriculture education materials. Local knowledge that once required extensive textual explanation was transformed into creative media that people could understand, interact with, and willingly spend time with, while also being continuously used and developed by the local community. In this way, the “value” of the place is no longer defined solely by its “price” in the market.
Starting with market research and an inventory of local resources, the students carried out a series of initiatives, including fresh jujube promotion, the “JUJUBE CUP” fresh jujube snack cup, a meme creativity competition, the “Finding the White Dragon” press conference, short-form videos, and rural experience activities. They also observed posting times, reach, and video performance, putting digital marketing methods learned in the classroom to the test through a continuous cycle of “launching—tracking traffic—reviewing—adjusting.” The series of content generated nearly 40,000 views, while video content received more than 73,000 views, with total engagement reaching 7,786 interactions.
However, as their online reach gradually grew, the students began asking an even more important question: Making jujubes popular for a moment is not difficult. The real challenge is how to make the value of a place stay.
Therefore, beginning in August, the team shifted its focus further toward food and agriculture education. They brought their teaching materials into farmers’ associations, supermarkets, and after-school care centers, conducting pre-tests, trial teaching, and post-tests with first-grade elementary school students. Through teacher interviews and observations of students’ responses, they continuously revised and refined the materials. The students further developed the “White Dragon × Jujube” local IP, the “Save the Little Fish” ecological riverbed restoration teaching kit, five-senses jujube experiences, laser-cut teaching materials illustrating the jujube life cycle, and place-of-origin identification activities. Through these efforts, they sought to translate knowledge of the Chuanlong Irrigation Channel, ecology, agriculture, and local production into learning tools that children can operate with their own hands, teachers can use in class, and local communities can continue to develop. The materials are also being extended to different settings, including life curriculum classes for lower-grade elementary students, food and agriculture education, and rural tourism experiences.
For these students, cultural creativity is no longer simply about “making a product.” Instead, it has become a process of learning how to identify problems within a community, propose solutions through design, and repeatedly test those solutions in real-world settings. When the market becomes a laboratory, social media becomes a window for observation, and the classroom becomes another gateway to local knowledge, university education truly enters the land and community, allowing students’ professional skills to grow together with the places they serve.
This year marks the fifth year that Professor Hsiung Tzu-Fei has led NUU cultural creativity students in the Rural Return Competition. The team first participated in the 12th competition and won a Silver Award, followed by both Gold and Silver Awards in the 13th competition, a Bronze Award in the 14th, and another Gold Award in the 15th. This year, “Hey Jujube!” once again reached the top. Over five years, the NUU teams have accumulated three Gold Awards, two Silver Awards, and one Bronze Award, including national Gold Awards in two consecutive years.
Professor Hsiung Tzu-Fei, the team’s advisor, said, “What students ultimately learn is not how to get everything right the first time, but how to recognize when something is not good enough, return to understand the problem, and make it better.” From market research and fieldwork to marketing and trial teaching, each round of revision brought the design one step closer to real needs. It also helped students gradually move from “doing something for the community” to learning how to “do something together with the community.”
Although the competition has ended, the “Hey Jujube!” team plans to carry its food and agriculture education materials into the students’ junior-year capstone projects, continuing to test and refine them while applying for youth return-to-rural programs. The teaching materials, brand identity, and online content will also be developed toward continued use by the farmers’ association and local partners.
A competition may have an ending, but the connection between students and the community does not. From jujubes to oil fields, NUU students are stepping beyond the classroom and into the land, working alongside local residents and turning ideas into action. In doing so, the University is becoming a sustainable partner that accompanies local communities on their journey forward and creates new possibilities together.
(This article and its imagery were provided by the Department of Cultural Creativity and Digital Marketing.) September 7, 2026
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