Chongshin Shaping Entrepreneurial Team was formed by Wei-cheng Lin, Tsen-hao Jian, and Ting-yu Huang, guided by Chairman Da-wei Huang of the Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology and sponsored by Research Development and Industry-Academic Cooperation Office, STUST. The entrepreneurial team, which come from the master program of the department, recently participated in the 2024 “Sharon Smart Green Energy Science City” Green Energy Conversion Sustainable Future Innovation Industry Competition, and their brilliant performed brought glory to the university and won the first place in the green innovation category. The award was presented by Deputy Mayor Ze-shan Yeh of the Tainan City Government. The team won the championship with its proposal "Research on the Technology of Plastic Degradation by Barley Worms." The research on the worms resulted in a model that can be used in the feeding of barley worms and their biotransformation after ingestion to accelerate the plastic reduction process. At the same time, industrial innovation is used in agricultural processing. Product development, costs and energy consumption are reduced, and environmental problems caused by excessive consumption are avoided. It is a sustainable and environmentally friendly resource recycling.

【Wei-cheng Lin (left) and Tsen-hao Jian (right) from the Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, STUST, won the first place in the Green Energy Conversion for a Sustainable Future Competition.】

The 2024 Green Energy Conversion for a Sustainable Future – Smart Technology Application Creativity Competition was a competition in the field of green technology and AI intelligence organized by the Economic Development Bureau of the Tainan City Government and the Sharon Smart Green Energy Science City Office at the Information Security and Smart Technology R&D Building of the National Science Council. The competition was dedicated to cultivating students, citizens and corporate teams who are interested in green energy technology and low-carbon sustainable development, and to promote energy conservation, carbon reduction and environmental protection through the combination of creativity and practical application. The judges included Deputy Mayor Ze-shan Yeh of the Tainan City Government and Director Rong-chuan Lin of the Bureau of Economic Development. They hoped that through the public display and selection of outstanding green energy creative works, they could increase our society's understanding and support for green energy and sustainable technology, thereby accelerating the development of green energy technology and improving the application and popularization in daily life and industry.

【A group photo of Ting-yu Huang (first from left), Wei-cheng Lin (second from left), Tsen-hao Jian (right), and Chairman Da-wei Huang of the Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, STUST】

This green energy conversion to a sustainable future competition attracted active participation from students, experts and corporate teams from all over Taiwan. A total of 116 teams signed up to participate. The competition themes centered on the three major areas of green energy and energy-saving technology, AI intelligence, and sustainable environment. The theme was to design innovative solutions that contribute to green energy technology and low-carbon sustainability. The participating teams competed for the highest honor through the display of their works. The barley insect studied by the Insect New Modeling Team of the STUST has integrated its core breeding technology, biological characteristics and product production into a complete business model. It recalls Taiwan's past economic boom as a plastic product manufacturing and exporting country, creating a brilliant economy. Nowadays, we are facing increasingly serious plastic pollution and flooding. Among them, EPS polystyrene packaging products could cause white pollution after use. Solutions are urgently needed to prevent styrene gas from being released when burned and from polluting the environment. At the same time, some plastic products have been banned by the government. Its production plants have been eliminated, resulting in legacy problems with plastics left over from past manufacturing, including biodegradable plastic. Its appearance is similar to that of ordinary plastics, causing recycling problems in differentiated screening, while it can only be decomposed in an industrial environment.

【Wei-cheng Lin (left) and Tsen-hao Jian (right) from the Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, STUST, were taking a group photo with Deputy Mayor Ze-shan Yeh after the on-site briefing of the Green Energy Conversion for a Sustainable Future Competition."】

Da-wei Huang, Chairman of the Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, STUST, said that the student team won the championship with their proposal "Research on the Technology of Plastic Degradation by Barley Worms," which accelerated the plastic reduction process by applying the model derived from the research on the worms to the feeding of barley worms and their biotransformation after ingestion. The team used insects to create commercial value, maximize commercial value, and then shape insects; this could meet the market demand for pet food with high protein and high nutritional value. In the future, the team will continue to convert the department's learning and research into practical technologies, explore more excellent green energy technology application solutions, accelerate the process of NTU's smart technology and green energy transformation, and contribute to Taiwan's sustainable development by injecting endless kinetic energy. In the future, the team will also enter the new innovation base, obtain product development, expert guidance, manufacturer matchmaking, and apply for resources from the Research and Development Office of STUST and the Tainan City Government to inject endless momentum into the sustainable development of the campus. STUST expects to see the team embracing the bright future of green technology with a more forward-looking attitude.

【Wei-cheng Lin (left) and Tsen-hao Jian (right) from the Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, STUST, won the first place in the finals of the Green Energy Conversion for a Sustainable Future Competition."】

Zhou Deguang, Acting President of STUST, said that since STUST began to create a pro-industry-university environment in 1998, through the "academia-industry consistent academic program," it has not only trained talents that are "immediately available" for enterprises, but also has promoted employment and entrepreneurial development opportunities for students. Moreover, it has built a three-innovation learning culture of "creativity-innovation-entrepreneurship," and it has managed three-innovation competitions for 16 years. It has long listed three-innovation education as the focus of school development, taking "Entrepreneurship University" as its development goal. As the team was selected as the first place of the green innovation concept category in "Sharon Smart Green Energy Science City" Startup Competition, it has become a great example of campus entrepreneurship.

【Wei-cheng Lin (middle) and Tsen-hao Jian (left) of the Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, STUST, were taking a photo with Shu-chiang Guan, Deputy Director of the Research Development and Industry-Academic Cooperation Department, STUST.】