Event Background：
Over 130 countries globally have declared their climate commitment to achieve “net zero emissions” by the year 2050. Taiwan, in March of 2022, released the framework of “2050 Net Zero Emissions Five Pathways (Building, Transportation, Industry, Electricity, and Negative Carbon Technology),” along with four major transformation strategies (Energy, Industry, Life, and Society), and two foundational pillars (Technology Research and Development, Climate Legislation). A total of 12 key strategies were proposed, including wind power, solar power, hydrogen energy, forward-looking energy, power systems and storage, energy saving, carbon capture utilization and storage, electrification and decarbonization of transport, resource circulation and zero waste, natural carbon sinks, and net zero green living. All of these are considered “technology research and development” key strategies for developing net zero and negative emission technologies.
Objectives：
The “Net Zero Tech International Contest” is designed to cultivate talent development, strengthen industry-academic partnerships, facilitate global technological exchanges, and promote widespread understanding of net zero principles. This initiative aims to secure professional acclaim and establish a significant worldwide impact by：
- Award significant financial incentives to distinguished professors worldwide for research in net zero and negative emissions technologies, and support educators in guiding future experts in these critical fields.
- Establish a “Net Zero” platform to facilitate technical exchange and networking across industry, government, academia, and research sectors.
- Disseminate net zero knowledge to foster societal consensus and action on energy conservation and environmental protection.
- Support the four key transformation strategies in energy, industry, lifestyle, and society, driving progress towards a sustainable future.
Rules and Regulations of the Contest：
Convener： Dr. Wen-Chang Chen (President of National Taiwan University)
Contest Title：Net Zero Tech International Contest @ Taiwan 2024
Contest Theme： Net Zero Tech, covering the following technological domains：
(I) Renewable Energy (Wind Power, Solar Power, Marine Energy, Geothermal, Hydrogen Energy, Forward-looking Energy...)
(II) Advanced Energy Storage Systems, High Efficiency, Low Energy Consumption, Low Carbon Emissions
(III) Negative Carbon, Carbon Capture, Storage, and Reutilization Technologies
(IV) Electric Vehicles, Energy-saving Motors, Green Transportation
(V) Waste Treatment and Purification Technologies, Resource Circulation and Zero Waste, Green Building.
(VI)Energy-saving Technologies (Production, Manufacturing, Residential and Commercial Buildings, Green Building Design, Life......)
Contest Categories & Eligibility：
Main Contest:
(I) Open to students and faculty from various universities in Taiwan.
(II) Participants include undergraduate and graduate students from various universities in Taiwan and their respective advisors.
(III) Each team should consist of four members or more (including advisors).
(IV) Participants can be from different departments or universities.
(V) Each person is limited to register in one team (no restrictions on advisors).
International Contest:
(I) Open to students and faculty from universities worldwide.
(II) Participants include undergraduate and graduate students from universities worldwide, including Taiwan, and their respective advisors.
(III) Each team should consist of four members or more (including the advisors).
(IV) Participants can be from different departments or universities.
(V) Each person is limited to register in one team (no restrictions on advisors).
Contest Procedures：
(I) Registration: From March 1, 2024, to June 30, 2024
(II) Registration Method: Visit
1. Apply for a contest account in the event registration section.
2. Click the verification link in the confirmation email to activate the account.
3. Log in with contest account and complete the registration information (“Team Information”), which includes:
(1) Project title, names of team members with student identification and other personal information
(2) Motivation and process of creation
(3) Research objectives
(4) Brief project introduction emphasizing:
◼ Problem-solving and technical value
◼ Technical creativity
◼ Technical content and feasibility
(5) Project proposal and attachments submitted with PDF format (each file within 10MB, maximum 6 files)
4. Notes:
(1) Participants are required to specify the technological field of their project within the registration portal on the website.
◼ Main Contest: utilizing only the Chinese language for submission.
◼ International Contest: utilizing only the English language for submission.
(2) After the registration deadline, the following changes are prohibited: team members, project title, and the contents of project proposal with attachments.
(3) Entries that encompass products already commercially available to the public are ineligible for consideration.
(4) All submissions must respect intellectual property laws and ensure no infringement on the rights of third parties. Should any violation occur, the implicated parties will bear full responsibility; the contest organizers will not be implicated.
(5) Please upload your data anonymously, except for the “Team Information” section. This means that all other information, including school names, participant names, or advisor information, must not be disclosed in the project proposal. Violators may have their participation eligibility revoked through a decision by the juries.
(6) Upon thorough verification of team details and project information for completeness and accuracy, the organizers will send a “Registration Successful” notification via email.
(III) Preliminary and Secondary Review:
Main Contest: July 1-25, 2024
International Contest: July 1-9, 2024
(IV) Announcement of Review results: Results will be published on the foundation’s and National Taiwan University’s websites and official Facebook page.
◼ Main Contest: July 26, 2024, 17:00
◼ International Contest: July 10, 2024, 17:00
https://www.facebook.com/NetZeroTechContest/
(V) Final Round: August 21, 2024 (Wednesday)
Visiting activities: Arrange the visit schedule after the contest, participate freely. (Itinerary planning in progress).
(VI) Visiting activities: Arrange the visit schedule after the contest, participate freely. (Itinerary planning in progress).
Evaluation Method：
(I) Jury:
1. Convener: Dr. Wen-Chang Chen (President of National Taiwan University)
(II) Evaluation Criteria:
1.Problem-solving and Technical Value: 40%
2.Creativity: 25%
3.Technical Content and Feasibility: 25%
4.Completeness of the Project: 10%
(III) Jury members must adhere to the principle of avoiding conflicts of interest.
(IV) Preliminary Review Method: The preliminary evaluation consists of two stages - online written review and cross-evaluation by juries. Approximately 20-23 teams will be selected to the Final Round.
Final Round Procedures：
(I) Final Round Date: August 21, 2024 (Wednesday)
(II) Final Round Venue: National Taiwan University Sports Center (No. 29, Section 2, Xinhai Road, Da’an District, Taipei City, 106)
(III) Contest Format: Project Briefing and Presentation Demonstration
1.Teams that qualify for the Final Round should provide a 3-5 minutes project overview and operational demonstration video for the juries from July 26 to August 11. Video files should be in MPEG-4 format and uploaded to a cloud drive for organizers to download.
2.Each team has a total of 13 minutes (including briefing, demonstration, and judge questions). Advisors may provide assistance.
3.The presentation order will be determined by a draw during the Final Round registration.
4.Operational Demonstration: Teams will be provided with a space of 250cm × 200cm (width * length) to showcase their entries.
(IV) Dress Code: Participants should wear clothing that reflects the school or department’s identification system to highlight each team’s characteristics.
(V) Awards Presentation: An award ceremony will be held on the day of the Final Round, and information about winning teams will be provided to the media.
(VI) Notes: The organizer will provide lunch, participant guidelines, and participant pass. Teams failing to wear participant certificates as instructed or dressing according to the organizer’s rules, even after reminders, may have their participation disqualified.
Project Contacts：
Andy Chang +886-2-2542-2338#16
andychang@teco.com.tw
Stewart Lin +886-2-2542-2338#17
stewart@teco.com.tw