Professor Hank Huang, Vice President of Industry-Academia Co-Creation of NYCU (middle) and Rubaneswaran S T (2nd from the right), CEO of BEYONG4, signed the MOU.

The 2024 ASPN Sports Tech Accelerator DEMO Day, organized by the Sports Administration (SA) and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU), took place on August 9 at the CORNER MAX multifunction exhibition hall in Taipei. The event drew 12 teams from 7 economies, all competing for awards and showcasing the results they had developed with domestic and international mentors over the past six months. Ultimately, the home team StatsInsight claimed first place, winning both the "Sports Administration Award" and the "ASPN Award."

President Lin Chi-hung of NYCU highlighted that its Center of Industry Accelerator and Patent Strategy (IAPS) is recognized as an internationally renowned industry accelerator. He expressed his pleasure in collaborating with the SA to establish Asia's first sports technology innovation accelerator through ASPN. Professor Hank Huang, recently promoted to Vice President of Industry-Academia Co-Creation, has made significant academic contributions and is well-regarded as a serial entrepreneur with a strong academic background. Over the years, he has been dedicated to leveraging the university’s international resources and advancing sports innovation education, successfully nurturing 117 sports teams from 22 economies and elevating Taiwan's global standing.

Professor Huang said that 12 teams from 7 economies competed for the accelerator awards this year, showcasing the impressive outcomes they have achieved with the support of domestic and international mentors over the past six months. The competition was so intense that the jury faced a tough challenge in scoring. Ultimately, the home team StatsInsight emerged victorious, earning both the "Sports Administration Award" and the "ASPN Award." StatsInsight's founder, Mr. Leh Shyu, a former Taiwanese amateur baseball player, combined his passion with like-minded partners to develop cutting-edge baseball data analysis technology. The team has already collaborated with domestic teams and plans to expand into international markets, including the United States and Japan. Additionally, Snipitz, a U.S.-based team that offers an innovative platform for personalized interaction with sports videos, also received the "ASPN Award." In the future, each winning team will have the opportunity to participate in ASPN-related domestic and international exhibitions, further expanding their business opportunities.

Division Director Maggie Hsu of the SA highlighted that ASPN (APEC Sport Policy Network) was established by the SA under the APEC Human Resources Development Working Group (APEC HRDWG) in 2016. The network aims to bring together sports officials and industry experts from Asia-Pacific economies to collectively promote sports innovation education. Since 2018, ASPN has leveraged regional industry, government, and academic resources through an accelerator mechanism to cultivate sports innovation talents. This DEMO Day was organized in conjunction with the 2024 SET Workshop Forum, featuring over 20 international lecturers from ASPN and International Association of Event Hosts (IAEH). Attendees included representatives from prominent organizations such as Plug and Play from Silicon Valley, Microsoft Global Sports Innovation Center (GSIC) powered by Microsoft from Singapore, and the Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN). The event aimed to learn from international benchmarks and encourage sports teams to enhance their implementation strategies.

It is worth noting that many members of IAEH participated in this event, including representatives from the Region Stavanger Visitors & Convention Bureau of Norway, Norwegian Sport Tech, the Japan Sport Tourism Alliance (JSTA), the Department of Sports of Taipei, the Department of Sports of New Taipei City, and the SA. Division Director Maggie Hsu of the SA, who currently serves on IAEH Board of Directors, introduced IAEH to ASPN partners and encouraged further exchanges in the future.