The Department of International Business, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, cooperated with Strong Stationery Manufacturing Company, forming a team called “Be STRONG” to participate in the 2018 International Innovation Trade Show competition for College—Enjoy and Enhance the Green Life—organized by the National Taichung University of Science and Technology. The participating groups of the Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology included English briefing group, Chinese commentary group, English commentary group, and exhibition production design group. There were a total of 17 students in the four groups. They won 1st place in the exhibition design, 2nd place in the merchandise display, an excellent award in Chinese interpretation of the exhibition, 3rd place in English commentary, 3rd place in English presentation, and 1st place overall with the best performance.

【In the 2018 International Innovation Trade Show competition for College—Enjoy and Enhance the Green Life: The grand first prize was awarded by the Chief Secretary Rui-Chang Zheng of Taichung University of Science and Technology (first from the right) to Chuan-Shin Chao, the student representative of the Department of International Business, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Left one)】

The green-enhancement program stipulated that participating schools need to cooperate with manufacturers that have eco-labels. Strong Stationery, founded in 1963, is an old Taiwanese stationery manufacturing company. The stationery manufacturer attaches great importance to environmental protection. The products displayed by the "Be STRONG" team were arched archives made of non-toxic and durable PP synthetic paper that are environmentally-friendly, as a result of its 5-year research and development of self-reinforced stationery material. The student team accessed the company, searched for information, and actually participated in the exhibition marketing process to internalize their professional knowledge. During the competition, they displayed their strength and creativity, successfully promoting the environmental protection files of the traditional stationary company.

【In the 2018 International Innovation Trade Show competition for College—Enjoy and Enhance the Green Life: the team participating in both Chinese and English presentations】

The “Be STRONG” team was jointly led by Prof. Wei-Jen Yang, Prof. Mei-Chin Zhu, and Shu-Ling Chang from the Department of International Business, together with Prof. Jia-Jun Lin from the Department of Visual Communication Design. Under the guidance of Prof. Lin, the exhibition of “Be STRONG” was completed with 100% recycled and recycled materials, displaying their creativity and highlighting the brand image. They won first place in exhibition design and second place in merchandise display. One of the reviewers, Director Lu-Shin Chang of Lingdong University of Science and Technology, said in her commentary that it was amazing that Be STRONG could create such an impressive portfolio for those unflattering archive folders.

【Prof. Wei-Jen Yang, Prof. Mei-Chin Zhu, and Shu-Ling Chang of the Department of International Business, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, and the “Be STRONG” team members】

In addition, "Be STRONG" used recycled corrugated cardboard boxes in their creative ideas to produce clips that can be piggybacked around the human body for mobile advertising, lively English newsletters, and detailed Chinese and English exhibition products. Their presentation and commentary also won praise and great results. At the same time, the “Be STRONG” exhibition booth and human folder became the most popular booths for photographing and punching during the exhibition. Prof. Wei-Jen Yang said that, international trade exhibitions are an important part of companies’ international marketing under global competition. The Department of International Business, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, has been actively cultivating international trade exhibition talents. In recent years, it has actively participated in various exhibition competitions, and the performance of the competition has been outstanding. This time they were so glad that they could cooperate with Strong Stationery Co., Ltd., an old stationery manufacturer in Tainan, to participate in practical exhibitions. They practiced the “learning by doing” talent cultivation in a practical learning process. The outstanding achievements demonstrated once again the results of Southern Taiwan University’s efforts in entrepreneurship education and international trade personnel training.