The program on Bilingual Education for Students in College (BEST) at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) utilizes English as a Multilingual Franca to connect students internationally. It aims to enhance students' international communication skills, foster global talent, and empower students to address multicultural challenges. NCKU focuses on developing professional skills, enhancing cross-cultural communication, understanding cultural diversity, and increasing global awareness. The "NCKU Bilingual Education and Engagement Resource Office (BEER.c)," led by the Vice President, implements the program by integrating resources and collaborating with academic and administrative units. Monthly stakeholder meetings are held to refine strategies and optimize effectiveness.

Strategically, stakeholder meetings develop execution strategies, followed by university-wide briefings involving over 80 academic units. NCKU chose the College of Bioscience and Biotechnology and the College of Medicine as bilingual demonstration colleges to pilot strategies. This phased approach allows successful models to be expanded university-wide. NCKU plans to partner with Minerva University to develop courses, extend bilingual teacher training to the Affiliated Tainan Industrial Senior High School of National Cheng Kung University, ATIHS, and collaborate with alum businesses for overseas internships.

In pedagogy, NCKU supports faculty delivering EMI (English as a Medium of Instruction) courses. By the 112th academic year, 685 faculty members offered 1,214 EMI courses, 19% of the total. This effort helps faculty improve course design and quality. NCKU trains over 200 EMI Teaching Assistants annually and introduces resources such as Purdue Engineering Online Courses (PEOC) and Coursera. Supporting departments facing challenges in offering EMI courses, such as Chinese and History. "EMI Teaching" is recognized within the university's Teaching Innovation Awards.

Student engagement in EMI courses has significantly increased since the program’s implementation. Enrollment in EMI courses rose from 32% to 52%, and the proportion of undergraduates graduating with over 25% EMI credits increased from 8.2% to 15.3%. Sophomore participation in EMI courses grew from 6.37% to 23.2%, while first-year graduate students taking over 20% of EMI credits increased from 25.1% to 37.7%.

Beyond formal coursework, NCKU fosters a multilingual environment for integrating local and international students. The university organizes cultural workshops, English lunch tables, and competitions to promote English usage and confidence. Collaborations with industries provide overseas internships, such as those with Delta Electronics in Slovakia, and partnerships with Micron, Arima Communications, AMD, ASML, and NVIDIA. NCKU students excel in international competitions, showcasing strong English communication skills.

Quality assurance data show similar satisfaction levels between EMI (4.54) and non-EMI (4.56) courses, with EMI courses scoring higher in "class interaction." The Language Center developed the NCKU Disciplinary Literacy Descriptor (NCKU-DLD) to assess students' academic English skills. NCKU-DLD workshops help faculty incorporate assessments into EMI courses, enhancing curriculum design and linguistic competencies.

These initiatives demonstrate NCKU’s progress in advancing bilingual education. In the future, the university aims to develop EMI pedagogical methods further, support bilingual teacher training at the secondary level, expand overseas internships, and establish connections with domestic and international institutions. NCKU aspires to be a model for bilingual education in Taiwan, advancing toward cultivating international talent and empowering students to address global challenges with their expertise.