The Ministry of Education (MOE) organized the largest international student design competition, the "2023 Taiwan International Student Creative Design Competition (16th TISDC) ", and held the award ceremony on December 1 at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park Eslite Performance Hall. Republic of China (R.O.C., Taiwan) students demonstrated a wealth of creativity and design power in this year's competition, with a total of 42 works winning awards, among which two works, "DASHAN HAWAN" and "Set Sail", won the Gold Prizes in the categories of "Visual Design" and "Digital Animation", which is a very fruitful result.

The 16th TISDC has gained recognition within the design community for its credibility and stands as a vital incubator for fostering young Taiwanese design talents. This year's theme, “Compassion”, aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) encouraging participants to cultivate empathy, contemplate the relationships between people, the environment, and society, and creatively find solutions toward building a better future.

This edition drew participation from 56 countries and regions, involving 1,161 schools and departments, resulting in a staggering 18,367 entries, and thereby intensifying the competition significantly. The judges from 23 countries engaged in the initial selection, ultimately narrowing down to 741 finalists. Subsequently, a panel of jurors representing 28 countries selected 85 winning entries, reflecting a mere 0.46% of those winning the prizes.

The R.O.C., Taiwan students not only won Gold Prizes, three Silver Prizes, five Bronze Prizes, and 17 Honorable Mentions in the categories of "Visual Design" and "Digital Animation", but also won the "Special Award of the International Design Organization" co-sponsored by the iSee Taiwan Foundation and the Sayling Wen Cultural and Educational Foundation, and the "Environmental Sustainability Award" sponsored by the TPCA Environment Foundation. This proves that the creativity and design power of the R.O.C., Taiwan students have become highly competitive at an international level.

The esteemed Grand Prix was awarded to Na Yu Jin and two fellow students from the University of Ulsan in South Korea for their creation of the "Emergency Shield". This is a design for shielding the scene of a car accident by employing magnetic attraction to affix the shield onto ambulances or police vehicles. It aims to mitigate the risk of secondary collisions caused by distracted passing drivers while also shielding onlookers from potential psychological trauma. Crucially, it upholds the dignity of the accident victims. The jury unanimously applauded the design, granting it the Grand Prix and a cash reward of NT$400,000.

The Gold Prize in the Product Design category went to Yunho Kim and four fellow students from Kookmin University of South Korea. They developed "Ourhour", a new product that integrates a wheelchair, stroller, and car safety seat, specifically designed for parents with disabilities. The jury highly lauded its modular design, exquisite aesthetics, meticulous details, and harmonious blend of safety and convenience. By catering to the needs of vulnerable groups, it definitely earned the Gold Prize.

The Gold Award in the Visual Design category was given to the team from China University of Technology, comprising Yi-Xuan Xie, Tzu-Ling Kuo, Tz-Chi Mao and Yu-Ru Hsu, for their work "DASHAN HAWAN". This project transforms the unique cultural asset of indigenous tribes, "the mountain knife", into a "Letter Opener Set", promoting the aesthetic culture of the mountain knife. The jury commented on the maturity and comprehensive execution, as well as the students' respectful and insightful observation of the indigenous peoples’ cultures, hailing it as a stunning and representative masterpiece of the R.O.C., Taiwan.

In the category of Digital Animation, the Gold Prize was awarded to "Set Sail", a work by Yen-Ling Chen, Jo-Ti Lee, Yu-Ting Huang, Wei-Ju Wang, and Ting-Xiu Chen from the National Taiwan University of Arts. The animation, told from a third-person perspective, narrates a touching story of a little girl and her grandfather in the R.O.C., Taiwan during the 1960s and 1970s, exploring the relationship between love, sacrifice, and freedom, and the painting style is simple and warm. The jury was profoundly moved by the narrative and praised the exceptional artistic mastery and comprehensive visual effects, recognizing it as deserving of the Gold Prize for its professional excellence.

The list of winners for this edition has been released on the official website of the 2023 Taiwan International Student Design Competition (www.tisdc.org). The award-winning works will be exhibited from December 1st at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park Eslite Performance Hall (Address: B1, No. 88, Yanchang Rd., Xinyi Dist., Taipei City). Following the Taipei exhibition, the display will relocate to the National Library of Public Information in Taichung City (Address: No. 100, Wuquan S. Rd., South Dist., Taichung City) from December 5th to 14th, 2023. All visitors are welcome to the exhibitions.