2026/05/22 13:21 Reporter Hong Ruiqin/Tainan Report
On March 25 this year, National Cheng Kung University President Shen Mengru (left) awarded an honorary doctorate in engineering to Chen Taiming (right), founder and chairman of Yageo Group. (Provided by Chengdu University)
National Cheng Kung University not only produced President Lai Ching-te, "Taiwan's new richest man" Yageo Chairman Chen Taiming was awarded an honorary doctorate in engineering from National Cheng Kung University in March. At the conferment ceremony, he thanked his alma mater for the cultivation and encouraged his students to maintain curiosity about the world, because "curiosity is the biggest driving force for maintaining enthusiasm for work." He also humorously said that if he had studied hard back then, he might have been able to get a doctorate in four years. "It took 40 years to get it now. It's really hard work."
Chen Taiming is an alumnus of the Department of Engineering Science of National Cheng Kung University class of 1969. He received the Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award as early as 2020. After graduation, he originally had the opportunity to study in the United States, but chose to stay in Taiwan to start a business for the sake of his family, and along the way built Yageo into a global leader in passive components. He recalled that in 1986, he raised 2 million yuan from mutual aid associations to invest in the manufacturing industry. In 1993, when the company's annual revenue was only 400 million yuan, it applied for listing. Because its scale was too small and its ability to withstand the recession was questioned, it went through four reviews before it was successfully listed.
Chen Taiming also used his own experience to encourage young people that finding a job does not necessarily require big companies, but more importantly, they need to understand the future of the industry; in addition, they should not change jobs too frequently in order to truly accumulate strength. He believes that in the face of the AI wave, one should not be afraid of technology, but should learn to use AI to improve services and problem-solving capabilities.
National Cheng Kung University and Yageo have long-term close cooperation. The two parties have jointly established the "Yageo-Chengdu University Joint Research Center". The company provides process and production line resources to assist teachers and students in research, and also establishes educational scholarships to cultivate science and engineering talents.
In fact, National Cheng Kung University alumni can be called the "cradle of entrepreneurs" in Taiwan's technology industry, including Ge Changlin, chairman of Wangsi Technology, Lu Jinglai, chairman of Wanrun Technology, Chen Junsheng, chairman of Acer, Chen Qihong, chairman of Qisda Technology, Wu Bingsheng, chairman of Himax Optoelectronics, and Wu Minqiu, chairman of Macronix Electronics, who donated funds to establish the "Successful Innovation Center - Macronix Pavilion", setting a record for the highest single individual donation since the founding of National Cheng Kung University.
