WON.HOUSE NEWS / 05/14
To actively cultivate design talents and boost industrial creativity, WON.HOUSE of TSGS, INC. participated for the first time in the “2021 Industry-Academia Collaboration in Young Designers’ Exhibition”. WON.HOUSE, which has many years of experience in textile and WiseChip Semiconductor Inc., which owns optoelectronic technology, have not only assisted students to understand the market and reduce the theory-practice gap, but have also strongly supported the students by loaning their entrepreneurial resources in the fields together with the necessary equipment.
Through the industry-academia collaboration project, enterprises can assist students in integrating with the industry and in understanding the problems they may face in their product development process, while the creativity and enthusiasm of the students may give feedback to enterprises, igniting different sparks. Mr. Murphy Chung, Chairman of TSGS, INC., who participated in the industry-academia collaboration project for the first time, said: "To enhance the creativity and design capabilities of Taiwan’s industries, we must start from education. We know it is hard to find a good business model. So, I hope to make students more aware of real-world market conditions and production experience on top of design and application level."
Through the interaction of industry-academia collaboration, WiseChip Semiconductor Inc., which has participated in the industry-academia collaboration project for the second time, hopes to see a new face of technology products and is looking for more outstanding talents to inject new blood into the industry. Dr. York Tsai, Vice President of WiseChip Semiconductor Inc., said: “We believe that we should take more social responsibility in talent cultivation. This is the second time that WiseChip has participated in the Young Designers’ Exhibition. Not only do we hope to create new life technology products through this industry-academia collaboration project, but we are also looking for and cultivating future talents and partners for our common goal."
A total of four groups of students from the Department of Industrial Design of Ming Chi University of Technology, the Department of Arts and Design of National Taipei University of Education, and the Department of Industrial Design of Shih Chien University Kaohsiung Campus took part in this industry-academia collaboration project in which they were given practical guidance and evaluation for one year. Based on the principle of "questions raised by enterprises and solutions proposed by students", the participating enterprises gave out the topic "An Innovative Project for Improving Family Relationships through Living Technology Products", under which students were required to make creative proposals for products that must meet the needs of family members aged 0-18. The proposals might cover any issues related to healthcare, sensory perception, cognitive learning, or behavior.
Combining their own life experience and knowledge, students unleashed their creativity to launch product designs for medical treatment, interactive games, and so on. After the reviewers had made many rounds of discussions and evaluations, they finally decided to grant the gold medal award to "Fairy Buzzy", the silver medal award to "KOOBA", the bronze medal award to "TON TON", and the honorable mention to "Kudong Tribe". Yun-Ting Wang, a student from the Department of Industrial Design of Shih Chien University Kaohsiung Campus, who won the gold medal award, said: "The moment I received the award-winning message, I really couldn’t believe it! In fact, I was not very confident in my design ability. Other competitors were also very good. I didn't expect to win the prize."
"Fairy Buzzy" is a fairytale toy set consisting of buzz wire and track, which can be assembled easily and freely by following the story themes. Capitalizing on the freedom of track assembly, excitement of buzz wire, and rich morals of the stories, "Fairy Buzzy" helps pre-school kids to form correct concepts and cultivate good habits to communicate with their parents. Yun-ting Wang said, "I feel it was destined. It happens that the topic given by the enterprises just matched my own interests. I am also very grateful to WiseChip and TSGS for their willingness to share industry knowledge and help me find resources." Regarding the experience in this industry-academia collaboration project, Yun-ting Wang also said what she learned the most was how to coordinate resources and how to make choices when the concepts of industry and academia were different. She was happy to have proposed a product that is not only in line with market benefits but has also retained her original intention of design.
Mr. Wen-Chin Hsu, Director of the New Business Department of WON.HOUSE of TSGS, INC., who served as a reviewer for the industry-academia collaboration project for the first time, affirmed the efforts and creativity of the students, saying: "It is good that students have had their own ideas and have actively designed the products to solve the problems. The process of industry-academia collaboration has also helped students increase their design experience.” To help students achieve their goals, the "Child Welfare League Foundation" and "Singular Concept Studio" were invited to serve as the reviewers to assist students in product design and planning that can better meet the needs of children and the market.
Since its establishment, WON.HOUSE has been committed to becoming a cross-field matching platform not only for the upstream, midstream, and downstream suppliers but also for the industry, government, academia, and research units. WON.HOUSE aims to provide integrated and cross-industry solutions for the textile industry through digital technology. Through the experience of this industry-academia collaboration, we also give support and encouragement to students. In the future, WON.HOUSE will continue to promote talent guidance, share industrial resources and cooperate with academia, as well as provide a stage where students can show their skills and realize their potential.
■Works
Product： Fairy Buzzy
Department / School： Department of Industrial Design, Shih Chien University Kaohsiung Campus
Designer(s)： Wang Yun-Ting
Mentors(s)： Chu Hsu-Cheng
Product： KOOBA
Department / School： Department of Industrial Design, Ming Chi University of Technology
Designer(s)： Lai Yu-Ling, Yang Chun -Hsiang, Huang Tzu-Kang
Mentors(s)： Chen Chien-Chih
Product： TON TON
Department / School： Department of Arts and Design, National Taipei University of Education
Designer(s)： Hsu, Hui-Ying, Chen, Xiang-Yun
Mentors(s)： Li, Kai-Chu
Product： Kudong Tribe
Department / School： Department of Industrial Design, Ming Chi University of Technology
Designer(s)： Hsu Fang-Ping, Lai Chien-Chen
Mentors(s)： Li Kai-Chu
