National Ilan University

What National Ilan University does

National Ilan University (NIU) is a public national university located in Yilan City, Yilan County, Taiwan, and the only national university in the county. Founded in 1926 as the Taiwan Provincial Ilan School of Agriculture and Forestry, it evolved through polytechnic and institute stages before attaining university status and now offers BA, BS, MA, MS, and PhD degree programs across four colleges spanning agriculture, engineering, biotechnology, humanities, and technology. The university enrolled 4,912 students as of September 2016 (4,420 undergraduates, 482 masters, 10 PhD), supported by 356 teaching faculty and 200 non-academic staff, with over 40,000 alumni worldwide.

Core academic infrastructure includes specialized research centers covering organic agriculture, nanotechnology, UAV applications, and environmental education. NIU also operates an Innovation and Incubation Center supporting entrepreneurship, a Center for Digital Learning managing eLearning systems, and a Microsoft Office 365 Teams-based online class platform. The university has been recognized as a Top 3 Teaching Excellence National University in Taiwan for eight consecutive years by the Ministry of Education and ranks in the top 1% worldwide in ESI's Electro-Scientific Industry field.

Revenue derives from three primary streams: Taiwan Ministry of Education-subsidized domestic tuition, research grants from MOST (Ministry of Science and Technology) and the Council of Agriculture (NT$64M-NT$77M annually), and industrial collaboration grants (NT$146M-NT$166M annually across 229-234 cases). NIU also generates technology transfer and patent licensing revenue, ranking among Taiwan's Top 10 national universities for patents and technology transfer contribution. The go-to-market combines a centralized admissions system (isa.niu.edu.tw) for domestic and international students, an Office of International Affairs serving 50+ countries, and community engagement through initiatives such as the Shennong Organic Farmers Fair and the Yilan Innovation Competition with the Yilan County Government.

Name

National Ilan University

Legal name

National Ilan University

Website

https://niu-en.niu.edu.tw

Company type

Private

Founded year

1926

Operating status

Operating

Short description

National Ilan University is the only national public university in Yilan County, Taiwan, offering bachelor's through PhD programs across agriculture, engineering, biotechnology, and humanities, with strong research output in agricultural technology and sustainable development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Universities with Strong Industry Partnerships (EDAHAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Applied Research & Innovation Universities (EDAHAEAE), Technical Universities with Entrepreneurship & Incubation Focus (EDAHAEAH), Engineering & Technology Institutes (Comprehensive) (EDAHAEAA)

Keywords

• Higher education services
• Academic research programs
• Agricultural technology research
• University degree programs
• Technology transfer services

Headquarters

HQ city

Yüanshan

HQ country

Taiwan

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Revenue from domestic and international student tuition, including undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs
2. Research Grants: Government funding from Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, and Council of Agriculture for research projects. Industrial collaboration grants for technology transfer and applied research.
3. Technology Transfer and Patents: Revenue from patents and technology transfer to industry partners. Ranked Top 10 national university in Taiwan for teaching contribution to patents and technology transfer.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

National Ilan University is a national university in Yilan County, Taiwan, offering BA, BS, MA, MS, and PhD degree programs across four colleges and 15 departments with strengths in agricultural technology, biotechnology, environmental engineering, and sustainable development. The university operates specialized research centers (Organic Center, Center for Nanotechnology, UAV Application Research Center, Environmental Education Center), conducts government-funded and industry-sponsored research, and provides technology transfer and patent commercialization to industry partners. It also delivers international student recruitment, exchange programs, and entrepreneurship incubation services through its Innovation Incubation Center.

Product overview

National Ilan University (NIU) is an educational institution offering undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degree programs across four colleges. The university's digital offerings include the official English website (niu-en.niu.edu.tw) providing institutional information, the Microsoft Office 365 Teams online class platform (365.niu.edu.tw) for virtual learning, the International Students Admissions Application System (isa.niu.edu.tw) for enrollment, the Innovation and Incubation Center supporting entrepreneurship and R&D, and the Center for Digital Learning managing eLearning systems. These platforms work together to support academic operations, international student services, and student entrepreneurship initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bachelor's Degree Programs (BA, BS) Four-year undergraduate degree programs offered across 15 departments covering agriculture, engineering, biotechnology, humanities, science, and technology fields, designed for Taiwanese and international students seeking foundational higher education qualifications.
• Master's Degree Programs (MA, MS) Postgraduate research and taught master's programs across multiple colleges, providing students with advanced disciplinary training, access to specialized research centers, and faculty mentorship for advanced studies.
• Doctoral Degree Programs (PhD) PhD research programs offering advanced doctoral training with access to specialized laboratories, research centers, and faculty supervision in fields including biotechnology, biochemistry, agricultural sciences, and engineering.
• International Students Admissions Application System Online application portal (isa.niu.edu.tw) enabling international students from over 50 countries to apply for degree programs and exchange opportunities at National Ilan University, with centralized admissions processing.
• Innovation and Incubation Center Services University research center providing R&D space, guidance for governmental subsidy applications, expert counseling, and company image promotion for student entrepreneurs and regional startup ventures.

Quantifiable outcome

• Strawberry harvest at approximately 99kg/a matching county average and Samsung leeks at 331g per plant (approximately 10% above 300g county average) in remote farming demonstration
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• NTT Agritech CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 March 2026Collaboration with NTT Agritech and ThroughTek (TUTK) on Remote Farming Support System demonstration in Nanao, Yilan County. Tested effectiveness for agricultural workers with no cultivation experience. Achieved strawberry harvest at 99kg/a matching county average and Samsung leeks at 331g per plant (10% above average), while reducing instructor travel time by 180 minutes per round trip.
• ThroughTek Co., Ltd. (TUTK)coreTechnology or Integration · 23 March 2026IoT technology provider for remote farming support system demonstration. Partnered with NTT Agritech and NIU to deploy greenhouse monitoring and remote agricultural guidance solutions.
• Yilan County GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 August 2022Collaboration on Yilan Innovation Competition with prize pool of NT$400,000. Yilan County provides funding and platform while NIU provides innovation expertise through Innovation Incubation Center.
• Lanyang 21st-Century Real Estate Hun Yi GroupminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Industry-academia collaboration partner operating NIU Red House commercial district. Refurbished 1,650 square meter campus area for retail and community use, mentored four NIU students in real estate brokerage internships.
• Purdue UniversityflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) program collaboration. One of 14 internationally reputed universities selected for US$5 million Helmsley Charitable Trust sponsorship to promote interdisciplinary student research projects.
• Georgia Institute of TechnologyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015VIP program partner in US$5 million Helmsley Charitable Trust sponsorship collaboration for Vertically Integrated Projects with Purdue, University of Michigan, and 14 international universities.
• University of MichiganflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015VIP program partner in US$5 million Helmsley Charitable Trust sponsorship collaboration for international interdisciplinary student research.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• National Dong Hwa University: A national university serving eastern Taiwan with a similar regional-monopoly position, comparable student scale, and overlapping science/engineering/humanities program mix. Closest geographic analog as another out-of-Taipei-corridor national university.
• National University of Tainan: A smaller national university in southern Taiwan with comparable student scale, multi-college structure (education, humanities, science/engineering), and similar teaching-excellence positioning. Comparable on size tier and program mix.
• National Pingtung University of Science and Technology: A national polytechnic university in southern Taiwan with a parallel agricultural and applied-technology heritage, comparable undergraduate/graduate scale, and similar emphasis on industry collaboration and technology transfer — making it the closest structural analog to NIU.
• National Taiwan Ocean University: National university in Keelung (adjacent to Yilan in northeastern Taiwan) with a comparable technical-pioneer heritage, similar student scale, and overlapping applied-science research focus including marine and bioresources — directly comparable on regional positioning and academic scope.
• National Formosa University: A national technical/polytechnic university in central Taiwan with similar engineering-and-applied-research focus and comparable student scale. Useful peer for benchmarking applied-research output and industry collaboration metrics.
• National Chiayi University: Another national university originally founded as an agricultural and forestry school, with comparable scale, applied research orientation, and regional-industry partnership model. Direct comparable on institutional DNA and program mix.

Broad incumbents

• National Taiwan University: Taiwan's flagship national university and the dominant incumbent across most disciplines that NIU competes in. Comparable on industry collaboration, patent output, and government-grant capture but operates at materially larger scale.
• National Cheng Kung University: Taiwan's leading technical/engineering national university with deep industry partnerships and top-tier R&D output. Same engineering and applied-research overlap as NIU but at significantly larger scale and stronger research prestige.

Regional players

• National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology: A national technical university serving southern Taiwan with overlapping engineering, applied-science, and industry-collaboration programs. Comparable on technology-transfer orientation but operates in a different regional market.

Emerging players

• Minghsin University of Science and Technology: A private technical university in Hsinchu with overlapping engineering and technology program mix. Comparable on applied-technology teaching focus and scale, useful as a private-sector benchmark for student recruitment competition.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/niu.oia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-ilan-university

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Ilan University