The Far Eastern Y. Z. Hsu Foundation held the 24th Y. Z. Hsu Scientific Awards Ceremony on September 24 at the Shangri-La Far Eastern, Taipei. Ching-Chang Wong, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Director of the Intelligent Automation and Robotics Center at Tamkang University, received the Y. Z. Hsu Outstanding Professor Award in the Technology and Humanities category in recognition of his outstanding contributions to research and talent development in intelligent control and intelligent robotics. Tamkang University President Hui-Huang Hsu and Dean of the College of Engineering Li-Chiu Chang attended the ceremony to witness this prestigious occasion.

Following Ben-Hang Chang, Director of Tamkang University's Carrie Chang Fine Arts Center, who received the award last year, Wong became the second TKU faculty member to receive this distinction. Established many years ago, the award recognizes outstanding educators and medical professionals at Far Eastern Group-affiliated institutions. Recognizing Tamkang faculty members in two consecutive years highlights the close relationship between Tamkang University and the Far Eastern Group. Douglas Hsu, Chairman of the Far Eastern Group, previously received an honorary doctorate from Tamkang University, while Kun-Yen Lee, President of Asia Cement Corporation, currently serves on the university's Board of Trustees. Tamkang has also been actively collaborating with Far EasTone Telecommunications to develop its "All-Cloud Smart Campus 3.0" initiative. In addition, the university has assisted Asia Cement Corporation and its affiliated companies in designing customized AI training programs for internal professional development, jointly advancing toward a smarter and more sustainable future.

In an interview with Tamkang Times following the award announcement, Wong expressed his sincere gratitude to successive university presidents and supervisors for recognizing the importance of AI robotics research and development. Their early commitment of resources enabled him to establish and lead graduate programs in robotics and the Robotics Center, to cultivate interdisciplinary talent in AI and robotics. He also expressed heartfelt appreciation to the students who worked alongside him in developing various types of robots, emphasizing, "It is the collective research achievements of our faculty and students that have made this award possible." He further remarked, "Tamkang students learn on the battlefield, and success comes from being repeatedly tested and refined through intense competition." He stressed that while professional expertise provides a solid foundation, the resilience, ability to perform under pressure, and teamwork cultivated at Tamkang are precisely the qualities most valued by employers.

Wong is an alumnus of Tamkang University's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, formerly known as the Department of Electronic Engineering, and returned to his alma mater as a faculty member in 1989. Since then, he has devoted more than three decades to robotics research and development. To date, he has undertaken research and industry–academia collaboration projects with combined funding exceeding NT$190 million, published more than 400 academic papers, and obtained 21 patents, demonstrating his exceptional research capabilities and sustained commitment to technological innovation.

Beyond his individual academic achievements, Wong has played a pivotal role in establishing a comprehensive AI and robotics research and education system at Tamkang University. In 2007, he spearheaded the Master's Program in Robotics, followed by the establishment of the Intelligent Automation and Robotics Center in 2011 and the Doctoral Program in Robotics within the College of Engineering in 2017. Between 2019 and 2020, he also led the planning and preparation of an application to the Ministry of Education to establish a Department of Artificial Intelligence.

In talent development, Wong has integrated competition-based learning with problem-based and project-based approaches, guiding student teams to participate in numerous national and international robotics competitions. Under his leadership, these teams have received 453 competition awards. Domestically, they won the overall championship in the development category of the HIWIN Robots Competition for five consecutive years. Since 2003, Wong has also led students in the Federation of International Robot-Soccer Association (FIRA) RoboWorld Cup, consistently achieving outstanding results. At the competition held in Canada in July 2026, Tamkang teams won the All-Round Championships in both the Adult Size and Kid Size categories of the Humanoid Robot World Cup (HuroCup). Notably, the Kid Size team secured its 15th championship title, further cementing Tamkang's reputation as a global leader in competitive robotics.

Through years of international competition, Wong has established Tamkang University's robotics teams as a globally recognized "World Champion" brand, significantly enhancing the international visibility of both Taiwan and the university in scientific and technological competitions. One achievement he is particularly proud of is the team's independently developed dual-arm robot. Tamkang was the only team from Taiwan to qualify for the finals of the 2017 Amazon Robotics Challenge in Japan and also participated in the Future Convenience Store Challenge at the 2020 World Robot Summit. These prestigious competitions brought Tamkang students onto the same international stage as leading universities, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Cambridge, as well as renowned global technology companies.

Decades of dedication have now yielded remarkable results. As the world enters a new era driven by AI and robotics, Wong’s robotics research team has become an important source of innovation and talent for the technology industry. A particularly notable example is the recruitment of several of the team's master's and doctoral graduates by Delta Electronics, where they became core members of the research and development team responsible for DIATwin, a virtual machine development platform based on digital twin technology. Another outstanding example is Syncrobotic, a subsidiary of the Foxlink Group, which successfully developed an AI-powered robotic inspection dog within just eight months of its establishment. The company's Chief Technology Officer, Hsiang-Min Chan, initially led a nine-member development team composed entirely of graduates from Tamkang University's robotics research team. These achievements demonstrate how Wong's long-standing commitment to research, education, and hands-on training has translated into substantial contributions to industrial innovation and the cultivation of highly skilled professionals for Taiwan's rapidly evolving AI and robotics sectors.

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