Sponsored by the Ministry of Education, the world's largest international student design competition "2022 Taiwan International Student Creative Design Competition" recently held an awards ceremony at Songyan Eslite Performance Hall in Taipei. STUST performed brilliantly in this competition and won the special award of the World Design Organization. The outstanding result was of world class, showing the students' abundant creativity and design energy.

【A group photo of the award-winning team of STUST and its advisor, Professor Kun Ouyang (third from left).】

Entering its 15th year, the Taiwan International Student Creative Design Competition is recognized by the global design community as an international event with both popularity and credibility. It is also the best example of the Ministry of Education's promotion of successful design education. The theme of this year's competition— One World— echoes the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, emphasizing that the world is one and its core spirit is global sustainability. Students are expected to confront and reflect upon issues bravely and integrate the concept of SDGs into their works, fulfilling the responsibilities of world citizens.

【STUST "World Design Organization Special Award - SpineUp" production team was receiving the award. 】

This year, 16,749 works from 867 schools and departments of 66 countries and regions participated in the competition. The background of the judging panel was highly international. A total of 112 professionals from 31 countries around the world selected 587 works in the primary selection for the final selection, with 77 works selected by judges from 28 countries. The final selection rate was only 3.6%, and the winning rate was as low as 0.4%, highlighting the commendability of the award-winning works.

【SpineUp Product Introduction -1】

This year, the Department of Creative Product Design, STUS won the special award of the World Design Organization for its work "SpineUp." The research and development team expressed their gratitude to Zhengquan Prosthetics Professional Medical Protective Equipment Co., Ltd. for its assistance and support. The company generously shared its professional knowledge, allowing the team to better understand the manufacturing process of the back brace products as well as the points that should be paid attention to when using and wearing them. The team actually got to experience the product as they helped the team earn this honor.

【SpineUp product introduction_2】

SpineUp is a low back brace designed for teenagers with mild to moderate C-shaped curves. Through actual interviews, the team learned that growing teenagers have a high probability of spinal deterioration and need to replace the braces frequently. However, the existing traditional braces are stuffy and unsightly to wear, and they need to be worn for 18-20 hours a day, which makes teenagers willing to wear them. Therefore, the team designed a SpineUp back frame, which combines soft and hard materials to increase comfort, and uses the principle of three-point force correction to design a modular mechanism. In addition, a SpineUp App home physical therapy game was used to increase the fun of treatment in a gradual way. After the therapy game was over, parents can learn about the training data of the teenagers through the SpineUp App, and provide the physical therapist with diagnostic evidence during the six-month regular return visit.

【SpineUp Product Introduction_3】

President Deng-maw Lu of STUST said that STUST has always encouraged teachers to lead students to participating in various competitions at home and abroad, and the school's higher education subsidizes the fees for participating in various competitions, so that students can move towards the international arena without any worries. In this competition, STUST was able to stand out among 66 countries. This also means that with the guidance of teachers, students have already possessed international-level design standards, and STUST has been also boosting competitiveness for Taiwan’s next generation. In the process of developing their works, students acquire various professional and industrial application technologies. After graduation, they can directly enter the workplace and seamlessly get integrated with the industry, so that students can better grasp the blueprint for future development.

【SpineUp Product Introduction_4】