National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) was established on February 1, 2018, by the merger of three universities: National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences, National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology, and National Kaohsiung Marine University. With the total number of over 28,000 students, NKUST is now the largest technological university in Taiwan.

NKUST currently has 13 colleges (College of Engineering, College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Management, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Finance and Banking, College of Foreign Languages, College of Ocean Engineering, College of Maritime Affairs, College of Hydrosphere Science), 4 centers (Center of General Education, Center of Language Education, Innovation and Incubation Center), and 1 committee (General Education Committee).

 As the result of the merger, NKUST not only incorporates the strengths of the three universities—strong connections with industries, innovation and entrepreneurship, and ocean technologies—into the new university, but it also has great advantages in the aspects of vast campuses, strong human resources, complementary resources, and diverse cultural assets, which makes a lively and vigorous academic community and learning environment for students. With the merger, the university hopes to integrate all the resources and to cultivate more excellent technological professionals and lead the business and industry development in southern Taiwan.