Taiwan earns record medal count at Asia-Pacific ICT awards

2016/12/07

Taiwan claimed six gold medals and 12 merit awards at the Asia Pacific Information Communications Technology Alliance Awards Dec. 5 in Taipei City, a record high in the 16-year history of the event.

Held for the first time in Taipei and jointly organized by the APICTA, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Taipei Computer Association, this year’s awards saw 236 teams from 16 APICTA member economies battle it out in 17 categories, including communications, industry applications, startups as well as sustainability and environment technology.

Taiwan’s six gold winners are Amaryllo International B.V. and Huijia Health Life Technology Co., both from Hsinchu County, Mirax Technology Corp. from New Taipei City, PVD Plus from Taichung City and Taipei Municipal Rixin Elementary School, as well as Teamplus Technology Inc., also from New Taipei.

President Tsai Ing-wen said in an address at the presentation ceremony that the awards are especially meaningful for Taiwan as the government is making great efforts to strengthen ties with Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states and South Asian countries, which comprise the bulk of the APICTA membership.

“Taiwan is investing heavily in smart technologies in the realm of Industry 4.0 as well as the Internet of Things, and I hope the outstanding performance of teams from Taiwan has made it clear that they will be ideal partners for you in developing products and markets,” she said.

The president also invited participating firms to make Taiwan their innovation, research and startup base, adding that the awards serve as a platform to spark ideas, forge partnerships and undertake bold ventures that will move the world forward.

Echoing the president’s remarks, MOEA Deputy Minister Shen Jong-chin said the award categories reflect the current international trends of smart application and software-hardware integration.

The 20 APICTA member states are all fast-growing markets for smart technologies, he said, and the awards give local firms access to these economies. The Taiwan teams’ top performance also underscores the country’s credentials as a provider of cutting-edge information and communication technology products and solutions, the deputy minister added.

First organized in 2001, the annual competition is widely regarded as the Oscars of the ICT industry, and honors creativity, innovation and excellence among entrepreneurs, individuals, organizations and students from the region.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=250073&ctNode=2194&mp=9)