The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) on Tuesday announced that it has launched a global competition with a US$30,000 prize focused on “IC [integrated circuit] design innovations” and “chip-based innovative applications.”
The competition, named the IC Taiwan Grand Challenge, is being held to promote the upgrading of various industrial sectors by “attracting start-up teams to Taiwan to propose research, development and commercialization plans,” the council said.
The competition is one of the talent-attracting strategies of the NT$300 billion (US$9.3 billion) Taiwan Chip-based Industrial Innovation Program, the NSTC said.
Photo: Reuters
The program was approved by the government last year to boost innovation through the use of Taiwan’s generative artificial intelligence technologies in industries across the board and to continue the nations’s edge in chipmaking.
The competition has two areas of focus, the council’s Department of Academia-Industry Collaboration and Science Park Affairs Director-General Andrea Hsu (許增如) said.
“One is the category of IC design innovations, which calls for teams with proprietary IC design technology, who if selected will be able to tap into Taiwan’s semiconductor industry,” Hsu said.
“The chip-based innovative applications, on the other hand, call for teams with domain knowledge in various industries and planning to combine existing chip technologies for implementation,” she said.
Among the domains that competitors can tackle are smart data security, smart mobility, smart manufacturing, smart medicine and sustainability, Hsu said.
Proposals would be evaluated based on technological innovation, local connectivity and value creativity, the council said.
Innovations that created value, including by promoting industrial upgrading, are important, she said.
There are two deadlines for project submissions: June 30 and Jan. 31 next year, the council said.
The winning teams must participate in the Taiwan Innotech Expo this year or next year, depending on which deadline they meet, but would be given travel and accommodation grants to take part, the council said.
The prize for each winning team is US$30,000, and “we will offer them world-class mentors and partners from the industrial sector and research institutes, and a platform to turn prototypes into production,” Hsu said.
More information can be found at https://ictaiwanchallenge.org/.
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