The Finals and Award Ceremony of 2018 Metal Innovative Application Competition were held in Garden Villa Hotel in Kaohsiung on November 15. The jury committee, composed of experts from official, industry, academic, and research sectors, was impressed that the works submitted by the contestants were more sophisticated than previous ones, especially those submitted in the adult category. The contestants showed their creativity and introduced aesthetic elements, which highlighted the value of rigid metal products. This meets the objectives of the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) when it first launched the award - that is, highlighting the diversity or unique applicability of Taiwanese metal products, adding more value to these products, and thus increasing the overall competitiveness of the metal industry.
The award is divided into two categories: adults and students. After six months of screening and initial selection, 32 works were selected out of the 112 submitted for the student category this year, and 25 works were selected in the adult category to enter the final round. All the finalist works were exhibited in the venue on the day of the final selection. The contestants were also required to be present in order to explain the features and meaning of their works and answer questions from the jury committee members. It was an opportunity for students to learn how to express their ideas and immediately respond to jury’s questions. The process was as strict as major examinations.
As the contestants were elites from all sectors, the jury committee stressed that it is an honor and achievement just to be nominated. To create a sense of tension and mystery in the award ceremony, even the presenters could not know who the winners were until the last minute, just like the Academy Awards.
Pei-Li Chen, IDB Secretary General, stated during the award ceremony that IDB has proactively promoted the upgrading of the metals industry toward high value-added activities while helping domestic manufacturers integrate development and production resources from the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors to create an optimal environment. Therefore, IDB launched the Metal Innovative Application Competition Award under the Metals Industry Development Promotion Program, with the aim of motivating manufacturers and students to use lightweight metals, embrace the aesthetics of technology, and incorporate innovative materials or design into product development processes to increase the applications of lightweight metals and expand the metals industry.
Chen added that plenty of resources have been accumulated since the award was first launched 15 years ago, and more and more outstanding works have been submitted, which is what they would like to see. To increase overall benefits, since 2010 IDB has commissioned MIRDC to help enroll the winning works in international competitions and facilitate their commercialization. So far ten of the works have won international awards, such as Red Dot, International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, G-Mark Japan, and Seoul International Invention Fair, which represents fruitful achievements.
Dr. Ren-Yi Lin, Chairman of MIRDC expressed his special thanks to IDB for its support for the metals industry. He pointed out that the award has been organized to locate and develop talents in metal design and manufacturing in Taiwan while encouraging manufacturers to be engaged in development and design. Through exchanges and experience sharing, contestants may come up with new applications of metals and help create substantial benefits for the metals industry.