Group photo taken after workshop with Darwin Venture Management.

Starting in the 4^th quarter of 2018, National Central University’s Global Research & Industry Alliance (NCU GLORIA) has been hosting monthly workshops, designed with themes centered on innovation & entrepreneurship, industry trends, startup know-hows, leadership cultivation, and many more. NCU’s research teams and on-campus startup incubators interact with experts from various fields, who contribute the latest industry trends and professional knowledge through business concepts and personal experiences that encourage participants to explore startup opportunities in a wider scope while stimulating diverse and deep thinking. The ultimate goal of the workshop is the discovery of competitiveness, then apply it to personal business ventures.

The innovation & entrepreneurship workshop was debuted by Ray Huang, former Vice President of hTC. While making references from the evolutionary history of smartphones to the developing trends in the ICT industry for the next 5 years, he connected his personal career to the development of creativity and competitiveness. In addition, Patrick Tung and Cheng-Lin Yang, senior analysts from the Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC) gave excellent presentations on artificial intelligence and virtual reality, providing a holistic analysis on potential business opportunities as well as trends in innovative applications on emerging technologies.

Sting Tao, the first President of LINE shared about vital growth for startups through research statistics and case studies, laying out the essential steps for startup success. Together with Titus Chang, Marketing Director of LuftQi Taiwan, who shared about strategic planning and global sales management techniques, David Ko, General Manager of BioBizLaw Inc., gave valuable insights on intellectual property rights, and analyzing protection acquisition and the commercialization for high tech industries – they both received warm responses from the crowd.

Workshop debut was a success, with active participation and positive feedbacks.

Darwin Venture Management’s venture capital expert Simon Fang and Vice President Kate Lin were special guests for the Elevator Pitch event, which was hosted for NCU’s research teams that were part of MOST’s Germination Program. Participated team members took in professional inputs, improved their skills in conducting SWOT analysis and briefing, but most importantly came to the realization that funding is a crucial factor in the startup lifecycle and should be approached with meticulous planning and mindful execution.

Entrepreneurs like Jim Li, General Manager of Alpha Pacific Technologies Co., Ltd., and Gerry Hsu, Founder of Sunflex, gave pointers on startup mentality, and emphasized the effects of envisioning intentions before creating a business. Those with clear objectives during the onset of startup lifecycle are likely to make accurate decisions at the right time. While Li and Hsu shared tips on maintaining solid business practice, participants acknowledged that success depends largely on team coherence.

When it comes to business management, former President of Dupont Taiwan, Steve Chen, and celebrated author and General Manager of Strategos, Inc., suggested to perceive the enterprise from company culture, where by adapting proper “values” and setting up the right attitude, a career path will be paved with opportunities and achievements. Surely, the audiences recognize the impact of such values, and also that the formation of various traits leading towards success must start small.

Since November, 2018, NCU GLORIA has hosted 9 sessions of Innovation & Entrepreneurship Workshop. Invited speakers focused on various stages in the startup lifecycle, and gave profound interpretation on the fast-moving market, establishing a platform for ideas exchange based on success versus failure. With the original intention of building up the knowledge base for NCU’s research teams, not only the faculty and students will have gained new insights, but NCU GLORIA’s alliance and potential members may also take advantage of possible collaboration opportunities.

Innovation & Entrepreneurship Workshop is a popular event on campus.