In a digital age, the ability to collect, calculate and apply information will be the key to the competitiveness of the industries. On May 19, MIRDC and National Sun Yat-sen University worked together to hold the first “Data Science and Management Forum.” The forum combines the field of data science and management, including two keynote speeches and two seminars, all of which were composed of researchers from MIRDC and professors from National Sun Yat-sen University. The application of data science was discussed from the two aspects of industry and academic research.

The MOU was signed with the participation of Tai-Hsiang Liao the Director of Economic Development Bureau, Kaohsiung City Government, I-Yu Huang, the Vice President of National Sun Yat-sen University, and Jen-Yi Lin the Chairman of MIRDC. This ceremony showed the determination to promote the application of modern data science to industry. Jen-Yi Lin indicated that the forum showed the industry-academia-research collaboration value which brought forth the strategic and actual results. He also elaborated that how to use big data technology to assist in implementing the work of government think tanks. These applications include the collections of industrial big data and domestic manufacturing information that are applied to the management of industry park, the approach to use data of international trade to observe the development of domestic metal industry so to create high-value strategy of metal industry, or the mastery of global industry outlook, industrial structure, interaction with manufacturers and furthermore the strategy of global leading manufacturers by using the news of offshore wind energy industry. I -Yu Huang, the Vice President of National Sun Yat-sen University, stated that the College of Management would begin by using AI and digital transformation, and it would share the relevant academic research results of the application of commercial big data, which included how to make marketing strategy of digital media by watching social media, to discuss the AI application in stock price prediction, image identification, mortality prediction, financial field, etc. Furthermore, there will be a demonstration of effectively using expert knowledge to improve the machine learning curve.

MIRDC and National Sun Yat-sen University are both important academic research institutions in southern Taiwan. In this forum, they announced that they would develop the joint database “Taiwan Plus” which provided more than 30 types of data and research information for those in academic research. With the analytical and application technology of data science, there will have information of different industries applied for industry park management, manufacture counseling, value-added traditional industry, emerging industry, and innovation of academic research. The collaboration between industry and academia is expected to carry out the win-win benefits.