National Chiayi University's Enterprise Incubation Center, in collaboration with its partner Plus One Innovation, jointly coached the NCYU's student entrepreneurial team "Earth Joy," who achieved remarkable results in "U-start Plan for Innovation and Entrepreneurship" held by the Ministry of Education in 2023. In the first phase, the "Earth Joy" entrepreneurial team stood out from nearly 300 teams, receiving a startup fund of NT$500,000. Demonstrating great potential, the team was once again praised and acknowledged by the judges in the second phase, being selected as an outstanding team. It became one of the final five teams in the manufacturing technology category and was awarded a startup fund of NT$500,000. In total, the team has won startup funds of NT$1 million.
This year, the "Earth Joy" team also joined the "Let's Shine! Agricultural Biotechnology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition 2023," organized by the Ministry of Agriculture. They utilized a microbial diversity system to transform pig manure into fully decomposed and odorless vermicompost, which was later applied in potato production. It not only helped reducing the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, but also reduce production costs, thus effectively achieving sustainable agriculture. Recognized for their professional R&D capabilities, forward-looking, integrated and innovative technology and services, the team was awarded a silver medal and a startup fund of NT$60,000.
Dr. Chia-Wen Hsieh, Director of the Office for Academia-Industry Collaboration and Continuing Education, congratulated the "Earth Joy" team on winning the funds. She emphasized that it was a hard-earned success for the team to stand out among numerous teams in various competitions; their future potential is exceptionally promising. NCYU has always attached great importance to student entrepreneurship, and offers wide-ranging entrepreneurship courses that are both interdisciplinary and industry-aligned. Students are also encouraged to use what they have learned to come up with creative ideas, explore market needs and gaps, turn ideas into concrete actions, and ultimately move towards commercialization. As long as they demonstrate ideas and enthusiasm, the Enterprise Incubation Center is ready to provide the entrepreneurial teams with relevant resources to support them in realizing their entrepreneurial aspirations.
According to Huang Chen-Wei, CEO of Plus One Innovation, the U-start program, launched in 2009, encourages universities and colleges to optimize the entrepreneurial environment on campus by integrating school-based incubation and coaching resources. So far, many high-quality entrepreneurial teams have evolved under the program. He expressed gratitude to NCYU for supporting Plus One Innovation, who exercised their expertise in youth entrepreneurship counseling and participated in coaching the award-winning entrepreneurial team. This time, through industry-university dual-track coaching, they have assisted the team in optimizing their technology, business model, and marketing, among others. He believed that "Earth Joy" is a team holding an unlimited future potential, and worth looking forward to.
Wang Jian-Yi, representative of the "Earth Joy" team, stated that all team members are students of NCYU's Professional Bachelor Program of Farm Management. After repeatedly experimenting with vermicompost during farm internships and finding relevant experimental data in international journals, they decided to form an entrepreneurial team. They would like to thank their advisor, Prof. Lu Ying-Chen from the Department of Food Science, for guiding them to apply photosynthetic microorganisms in potato cultivation. Their project aims to help increase potato yield, reduce dependence on imports, and reduce the impact of carbon footprint on the earth. They are also grateful for the resources provided by both the Enterprise Incubation Center and Plus One Innovation, who have helped them avoid many mistakes in the entrepreneurial process. The guidance of mentors enabled them to grow stronger.
Photo 1: Hsuch-Yu
Chen, Director-General of the Youth Development Administration, Ministry of
Education (second from left), presented a startup fund of NT$500,000 to the "Earth
Joy" entrepreneurial team.
Photo 2: Wang
Jian-Yi, representative of the "Earth Joy" team
Photo 3: Representative of the "Earth Joy" team, Wang Jian-Yi shared the concept of introducing vermicompost into potato production.