Talent Pool in Taiwan  Fuels Global Technology Footprint

Celebrating its 70th founding anniversary this year, the Far Eastern Group not only leads with diversified businesses in Taiwan, but is also dedicated to corporate social responsibilities.  The granting of the “Y. Z. Hsu Science Award”, sponsored by the Group for 17 consecutive years, has become a significant event to recognize and reward scientific innovation.

To commemorate the lifetime contributions of Far Eastern Group Founder Mr. Yu-Ziang Hsu and advocate his motto of “Cultivating Industries and Fostering CSR,” the Group affiliates, Hsu family members, and friends jointly established the “Far Eastern Y. Z. Hsu Science and Technology Memorial Foundation,” which is the first private science and technology foundation under the Ministry of Science and Technology.  Presenting the “Y. Z. Hsu Science Award” has become one of Taiwan’s science and technology sector’s major events during the year.

The “Y. Z. Hsu Science Award” has been awarded for 17 years.  In line with global scientific research and development trends, we are focusing on key emerging technologies and have expanded the original categories of the early nanotechnology, communications, and photoelectric to include biomedicine and green technology.  Mr. Douglas Hsu expressed: “To sponsor an award is not only granting an award, but providing a comprehensive system.”  The details of the choice of categories and how to establish the review system are all important success factors.

Applications for the “Y. Z. Hsu Science Award” have been increasing each year, illustrating the support and recognition from Taiwan’s academia to this award.  “The Y. Z. Hsu Science Award sparks inspiration, and we hope that the government and private sectors can both contribute in the scientific development of Taiwan, as technology is the key strength to push for Taiwan’s development.” said Douglas Hsu.
 
China-U.S. Trade War  The Epitome of Tech Wrestling
Mr. Hsu has been traveling extensively all over the world and is concerned about the current affairs.  Speaking of the recent “China-U.S. Trade War” Mr. Hsu thinks it is not merely economic competition, but also a technological development competition.  Because modern technology does not simply exist in private sectors, business competition within the high-tech industry should also be evaluated from a top-level national position.

Taiwan is famous for its semi-conductor industry, a synergetic result combining the strength of government, enterprise, and academic world.  However, based on these fundamental technology industries, there are many new science and technology that are advancing at an amazing speed to disrupt our world.  Y. Z. Hsu Science and Technology Memorial Foundation is aware of this change, and will dedicate more commitment to the applications of AI, Big Data, and IoT.  “This is a series of technologies, and Taiwan needs a series of talents which needs to be recognized by our Foundation.”  Mr. Hsu expressed.

Artificial Intelligence Shall Be Adopted
Y. Z. Hsu Science and Technology Foundation has been committed to scientific research and development.  We think we need to find a breaking point and quickly seize the opportunity in this new era to elevate Taiwan’s global competitive edge.  Our Foundation forecasts that artificial intelligence (AI) will be the central focus of global technology, and worthy of investment to encourage Taiwan scientists to engage in relevant studies.  Therefore, the “Y. Z. Hsu Science Award” plans to increase to include another award category of AI.

Mr. Douglas Hsu, with his dedication to sustainable environment, is also considering to expand the award category to include “Green Technology.”  He said, “Green technology now focuses on clean energy and pollution reduction.  The whole world is talking about the 3R’s - Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.  These are all focal points for the future planning of the “Y. Z. Hsu Science Award.”
 
Prioritizing the Foundation of Education to Support Young Scientists
To promote scientific education in campus, Y. Z. Hsu Science and Technology Memorial Foundation has been cooperating with the Physics Department of National Taiwan Normal University to sponsor “Y. Z. Hsu Cup—Taiwan Young Physicists' Tournament”, a challenging debate competition in English for senior high school students.  Hsu observed that the new generation of youths in Taiwan can fluently debate in English, but they lack the opportunity.  Therefore, after local contests each year the Foundation will choose the best students to represent Taiwan in the International Young Physicists Tournament (IYPT), supporting young students to go abroad and compete with outstanding teams of other nations and expand their international vision.

Meanwhile the Foundation is also creating a cross-generation interflow platform to sponsor the “Y. Z. Hsu Innovation Forum” by inviting winners of “Y. Z. Hsu Science Chair Professor”, young employees, and students to engage in dialogues to motivate learning through interactions with domestic leading scholars.  Mr. Hsu has been devoted to cultivating talents and encouraging young people to get involved in technological developments, “Taiwan’s education system has nearly 80 percent of college graduates, a very high percentage compared to the rest of the world, but whether these students are able to cater to the needs of this technologic era is worth consideration.”

While talking about the international conferences that Mr. Hsu attended recently, he indicated that people worry about not being able to keep up with technology advancements.  Reflecting back however, the industrial revolution and information revolution have both gone through their own transformations.  Now is no different, the key is how to respond to the trend and adjust one’s own pace.  He suggests the youths to embrace technology, engage in new areas such as AI and cloud computing, and be well prepared for the digital era.

Far Eastern 70  Ongoing Corporate Social Responsibility
This year the Far Eastern Group is celebrating its 70th founding anniversary.  Seven decades allow a chance to review the Group’s journey, and is also a starting point into the future.  For the Group, our CSR commitment has never stopped.  We will continue to enhance, review and move forward.  Currently the Y. Z. Hsu Science and Technology Foundation has achieved remarkable results with its “Y. Z. Hsu Science Award,” “Y. Z., Hsu Cup-- Taiwan Young Physicists' Tournament,” and “Y. Z. Hsu Innovation Forum.”  We will carefully consider how to extend into other scopes, future explore which areas, and present innovative projects in order to help Taiwan cultivate more outstanding talent, to create a sturdy base for technology to evolve, and generate new strengths for Taiwan’s future competitive strength.    (From《Scientific American》magazine) #