7/28/2014

A Bridge for Cooperation: Delta's 1st Greater China Advanced Automation Design Contest

To cultivate talented students for the automation field in Taiwan and China, Delta started an industrial-academic cooperation project in 2005 to work with academic organizations in building cooperative laboratories, training talent, and holding competitions. The project helps college students obtain professional knowledge at school, and connects them with real markets. Over the years, the results have been praised by governments, industries, and academic organizations.

This year, Delta has extended its industrial-academic cooperation to include the 1st Delta Greater China Advanced Automation Design Contest. The purpose of the contest is to discover talented college students by inspiring their interest in industrial automation and strengthening the link between schools and enterprises. During the contest Delta encouraged college students to put theory into practice through innovation and improve their implementation abilities, all while fulfilling Delta's mission “To provide innovative, clean and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow”.

This contest was organized by Chinese government officials and undertaken by Delta Greentech with the support of educational, industrial, and academic organizations in Taiwan and China. The judging committee was composed of leaders from academic associations, university professors, technical specialists, and experts in industrial automation. Delta also invited three prominent consultants to give supportive suggestions to the contest, including Mr. Bo-Shi Chen, a famous Chinese scholar, Mr. Fred Chai Yan Lee, an academic from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Engineering, and Academia Sinica, and Professor Tsong P. Perng, a renowned Taiwanese specialist and visiting professor at National Tsing Hua University.

Delta invited students from colleges and universities in Taiwan and China to propose projects according to the theme “Discovering Talent for Energy-efficiency” for the contest at the beginning of this year. Students were required to come up with innovative and creative proposals by using Delta's industrial automation products and technology. Over 120 teams from more than 60 universities in Taiwan and China signed up for the contest, and 60 teams from 48 universities made it to the final contest on July 18th.

On July 19th, the judging committee selected and announced 5 teams as winners of special awards, 10 teams for the 1st prize, 20 teams for the 2nd, and 25 teams for the 3rd during the award ceremony at Wujiang, China. The special awards went to the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Fujian University of Technology, Hangzhou Dianzi University, and Nanjing Institute of Industry Technology. Taiwan's National Taipei University of Technology and National Formosa University also won the 1st prize.

The award-winning projects included energy-saving solutions for motors and HVAC, waste management, drivers control, solar tracking systems, and more. The judges rated the projects for their energy savings, applicability, and potential for profitability in the market.

Cultivating Talent for a Better Future

The ideal industrial-academic cooperation combines theory, research approaches, practice and applications. To reach their goals, schools and enterprises cooperate and provide basic training and internships to students for more practical learning opportunities. Enterprises also have a chance to discover new ideas and talent through the project.

Delta values the importance of education and industrial-academic cooperation, and has set up the “Delta Environmental & Educational Foundation”, the “Delta Power Electronics Science & Education Development Program" and the "Delta Scholar Program". These programs actively support research projects for power electronics science and promote energy-saving concepts.

Delta also encourages all business groups and units inside the company to join the projects. Delta's Industrial Automation Business Group (IABG) started industrial-academic cooperation in 2009, building a Delta automation laboratory with Southeast University in China. Later in 2011, Delta's IABG built another laboratory with National Taipei University of Technology in Taiwan. Delta also launched cooperative events with more than 20 well-known engineering colleges in Taiwan and China, including cooperative teaching and training, promotion for industrial applications, campus recruiting, and more.

During the 1st Delta Greater China Advanced Automation Design Contest, Delta encouraged students in China and Taiwan to participate and make the best use of Delta's automation products in the contest. Four groups of contestants from National Taipei University of Technology and National Formosa University that are working on cooperation projects with the IABG in Taiwan attended the contest and two of them won 1st prize.

Discovering Talent for Energy-efficiency

Founded by Mr. Bruce Cheng in 1971, Delta Group strives to fulfill its mission, “To provide innovative, clean and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow.” for product development, global operation, and green buildings promotion. Delta's products and solutions saved 11.9 billion kWh of electricity from 2010 to 2013 and helped reduce carbon emissions by 6.4M tons for Delta's customers, who praise its energy efficient solutions.

“Energy-efficiency” was the theme of the contest, and students were required to apply Delta's automation products to industrial or consumer uses. Mr. Shaokun Zhang, the coordinator of Delta Greentech's industrial-academic cooperation projects, gave credit to all the contestants, saying, “The proposals of the 60 qualified teams in the finals cover applications such as water treatment, buildings, new-energy, mining, harbors, warehouse, petrochemical, tunnels, factories and more. The students are coming up with creative and flexible ideas for energy issues, and many of these ideas are very practical as well.”

What's worth mentioning is that 70% of the contesting teams came from universities that have not cooperated with Delta before. They signed up for the contest on their own and took an active part with Delta Greentech's support in providing Delta's automation products. With the unexpectedly large number of participants, the committee decided to open the quota for innovative proposals for the finals. Mr. Shaokun Zhang expressed empathy for the excluded teams, “Generally speaking, each team's proposal is unique and creative. However, due to the number restriction and contest regulations, we can only select proposals that were most creative, feasible, and compatible with the topic.”

The grading policy of the contest included “Theories” and “Applicability.” The “Applicability” part required each team to set up and adjust the equipment that showcases the theory or idea of their proposal in a limited time to display to the judges. Delta provided all the required equipment and technical support for the participants in the contest.

The IABG's general manager Mr. Simon Chang gave positive comments on the contestants' proposals. He said, “The creativity and applications for these proposals are amazing. Their efforts will surely bring new energy to the industrial automation fields soon.”

A Bridge Connecting Industrial-academic Cooperation in Taiwan and China

In addition to promoting automation technology and energy-efficiency, Delta expected this contest to become a platform for communication and interaction for all participants. Among all contestants, four teams representing National Taipei University of Technology and National Formosa University in Taiwan had their first chance for competing and interacting with Chinese students. They were enthusiastic and valued the opportunity to get involved.

The contest received positive comments from the judging committee as well. Some of the judges indicated that the students had shown their best in the contest. Most of the teams from China focused on specific production process in factories. Their creative ideas and practical skills were impressive. On the other hand, Taiwanese teams also displayed fine practical skills, but could only present their work in videos instead of real demos due to shipping issues and customs regulations.

To enhance the interaction between all contestants, Delta considered the arrangements for both activity agenda and contest location. “We hope that the arrangements will help the students show their best and make this an unforgettable experience.” said Mr. Shaokun Zhang. “We chose Delta's Wujiang Plant for the final contest and arranged for the students to live in the employees' dormitories for the three-day event. We hope the students can learn more about the real working environment and the needs of modern factories, and inspire them in the future.”

Delta's Wujiang Plant is Delta's biggest production base in China, which occupies 2,600,000m2 in size and consists of 6 plants. It produces nine types of energy, electronics and industrial automation products. The plant has received various national awards and has comprehensively implemented an RoHS lead-free solder production process, making the Wujiang Plant a world-class factory. Wujiang's Scientific and Research Center is also Delta's global innovation research and testing center with high-tech laboratories for heavy metal, micro-cutting, soldering, length correction, precise measurement training, and more.

During the contest, the students had the chance to visit Delta's laboratories and factories at the Wujiang Plant to learn about the industry and the enterprise. They were also able to participate in many activities and forums, such as “Business Opportunities in Future Automation Markets”, “Cultivating Talent for Automation in Taiwan and China” and more, giving them faith and passion for the automation industry.

The students had a lot of opportunities to interact with each other as well. They observed and had intense discussions with their rivals after finishing their own display. They also built friendships by staying in the same dormitory building. Three students who were having their birthday during the contest even received presents at a party held by Delta. The congenial atmosphere among the contestants reached a peak when the committee added a special prize for videos that recorded student interactions.

The Journey Continues

Delta held the 1st Delta Greater China Advanced Automation Design Contest emphasizing the value of social responsibility, experience in the markets, and advantages in technology. Its success revealed Delta's brand impact on Taiwan and China's higher education systems and built a bridge in industrial-academic cooperation for industrial automation.

For the students, the contest was valuable experience. They put theories into practice and exchanged knowledge with each other. They also learned much about the scale of Delta's corporation and its mission. They are all looking forward to the next contest.

As for the teachers, they appreciated the opportunity to help students learn about enterprise requirements, and also the strengths and weaknesses of doing the projects themselves. The contest also gave graduating students faith in what they had obtained at school and offered future directions.

The vice president of Delta Greentech Mr. Daryl Liao said, “The contest built a bridge for industrial-academic cooperation between Taiwan and China and for sharing experiences and innovative technologies. We have discovered many talented students and have successfully promoted our mission ‘To provide innovative, clean and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow.' ”

For Delta, encouraging and finding more talent for the industrial automation industry and promoting the idea of energy savings were the main purposes of the contest. With this year's success, Delta is planning to make the contest an annual event and believes it will attract more outstanding contestants from Taiwan and China. The students are so enthusiastic that some have started to discuss new topics for next year's contest.

“We hope that we can help the students excel and become the best in industrial automation through the competition and interaction with each other. With the contest, we hope to benefit society as well as increase Delta's brand awareness,” said Mr. Shaokun Zhang.

News Source:Delta Industrial Automation