The Pride of Taiwan: Opportunities brought by creativity and innovation. 2013Meeting of Commercializing Platform for Innovative Award-winning International Inventions
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The outstanding performance in innovation at Taiwan’s vocational and technological colleges and universities shines on the international stage. This international recognition demonstrates the creativity of these teachers and students. This resolute thrust is an important force for driving innovation in the industrial economy. Before implementing innovation in the industrial economy, those prize-winning innovations need to pass the test of “commodification,” which converts ideas into creative goods, and find their positions in the consumer market. Winning an international prize is not easy, and the commodification of these works requires other conditions as well, such as market positioning, capital collecting, planning, and marketing. In view of this, the MOE and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) have actively built an Intermediary Platform to offer industries and innovation teams face-to-face opportunities to exchange ideas in this regard.
The Commercializing Platform for Innovative Award-winning International Inventions was jointly arranged by the MOE and the MOEA for the first time. The event collected 151 prize-winning innovative works in the International Exhibition of Inventions from 34 universities. From 2009 to 2012, these creative and outstanding works won 76 Gold Medal Awards, 72 Silver Medal Awards and 22 Bronze Medal Awards. More than 40% of the works are in the field of Life Technology, including Energy Technology, Information and Communication, Electronics and Photoelectricity, and Biomedicine. These innovative works were not only recognized by international awards, but many of them also have specific intellectual property claims. They have received 91 Utility Patents and 33 Invention Patents, including 6 Invention Patents in Europe, the USA, and Japan.
At the event, there were brilliant innovations: “LED Lighting Apparatus with Fast Changing Focus” (LED的快速變焦裝置) from Chihlee Institute of Technology (致理技術學院) not only won the Gold Medal Award at the 2010 International Exhibition of Inventions at Geneva, Switzerland, the Silver Medal Award at both the Invention & New Product Exposition (INPEX) and Taipei International Exhibition of Inventions, but also received Invention Patents in Taiwan, USA, China and a Utility Patent in both Germany and Japan. This highly bright illuminator, which can provide a rapid adjustment of irradiation distance, can be widely applied to military, police, fire protection, and outdoor activity. The “Air Purifier” (空氣淨化設備, from Chihlee Institute of Technology) can improve air quality and the living environment via ozone release depending on changes in the environment. The invention won the Bronze Medal Award at the Taipei International Exhibition of Inventions, and received an Invention Patent in both Taiwan and the USA. Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology (南台科技大學) focused on green energy business opportunities and invented an energy-efficient lighting fixture, the “High-Quality Edge-Type Polygonal LED light fixture” (具有環狀發光件之多邊形無導光板發光模組). The invention won the Silver Medal Award at INPEX 2012 and has received an Invention Patent in the USA. The “Table-Tennis Ball Collector” (球類收集裝置) from Far East University (遠東科技大學) provides a new idea for the sports industry, and won the Silver Medal Award at the 2011 Seoul International Invention Fair (SIIF). Not only does the invention have the advantages of low cost and easy operation, but it has also received Utility Patents in Taiwan, the USA, Japan, and South Korea. Another innovative work from the university is the “Handy Tape Dispenser” (膠帶切割器). For being the most compatible tape roll cutter, this creative tape dispenser won the Gold Medal Award at the Croatian Salon of Innovations, and has received Utility Patents in Taiwan, China, and Germany, as well as an Invention Patent in the USA and utility model patents in Japan.
The event coordinated dialogues between industries and vocational and technological colleges and universities. Aside from exhibiting innovative works, it also hoped to take it a step further and provide a foundation for intermediary dialogues. The organizer in particular set up a special area for exhibitors and invited project teams from the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration of MOEA to present their Intellectual Property Promotion Project (智財推廣計畫) and Industrial-Academy Cooperation Promotion Project (產學連結推動計畫), as well as offer information on governmental resources supporting industrialization of intellectual property. They also provided free consultation on legal affairs relevant to the procedure of commodification, such as warrant and technology transfer. The organizer built a platform combined with invention and professional intellectual property service, and welcomed entrepreneurs, the government, and academia, as well as research circles to join this inter-departmental University-Industry Cooperation event together.
For further information regarding the event, please contact Miss Jhou Chun Fang (周春芳) of the MOE center for Regional Industry-Academy Cooperation (教育部區域產學合作中心) at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (國立臺灣科技大學). Tel：(02)2730-1046.