- Siemens co-sponsors the APEC Accelerator Network Summit & Global Challenge, the largest innovation incubator event in Asia-Pacific, for the second year - Siemens will continue to assist in introducing the innovative technology of Taiwan's SMEs to the world through its Technology-to-Business incuba-tion and cooperation network
Siemens Ltd., Taiwan and the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration (SMEA) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs will jointly hold the 2015 APEC Accelerator Network Summit & Global Challenge at the Taiwan New Horizon complex in down-town Taipei on Oct. 19-20. This will be the second year that Siemens participates in the event. Siemens looks forward to seeing the creativity of teams from Taiwan and the Asia-Pacific in the areas of Smart Home and Smart Mobility, hoping to identify innovative technology for the future. Siemens will select two winning teams, which will then head to the Pujiang Innovation Forum in Shanghai to interact with interna-tional venture capitalists, multinational enterprises and investors. The winners will also have the chance to develop technology with engineers for Siemens.
Siemens has consistently been a supporter of innovation, and with an eye to the es-tablishment of a multinational incubator network, is working together with the MOEA's SMEA in holding this two-day event to select innovative technology devel-oped by outstanding teams from throughout the region. Siemens unique "outside-in" innovation model has enabled it to identify many top-notch technological innovations around the world, and Siemens recognizes the increasingly vibrant and attractive startup environment in Asia, thus holding activities of this type. Siemens Ltd., Taiwan President & CEO Erdal Elver said: "Siemens presently has about 29,000 employees around the world engaged in R&D. Given the increasingly short innovation cycle, we hope to be able to take advantage of platforms around the world to uncover even more innovative technology. We hope that at this APEC Global Challenge being held in Taiwan that we are able to spot innovation attractive to the Siemens R&D team."
Countries throughout the world are encouraging young people to create startups, which will not only promote industrial innovation, but also enable them to realize their dreams. The vibrant development of Taiwan's SMEs is widely recognized as a key in Taiwan's economic strength, and Taiwan currently is actively promoting startups with the hope of becoming a major base for innovation and startups in the international value chain. A total of 19 teams have been chosen as finalists in the areas of Smart Home and Smart Mobility, with seven coming from Taiwan and with each of these teams exhibiting unique technology across a broad spectrum, including an applica-tion that can monitor rooms in smart hotels, a helmut that integrates augmented reali-ty (AR) and virtual reality (VR) images, an application that monitors temperature, humidity and CO levels in the home, and the development of wearable device that enables the integration and analysis of data in exhibition halls. Many exciting and competitive entries from other nations is making it hard to predict the winner of this year's competition.
The APEC Global Challenge is one of the most contested innovation-oriented com-petitions in the region. This year, 31 entrepreneurial teams from the Asia-Pacific took part, and following the selection of finalists, a panel of investors, experts, consultants, and industry specialists will select the winners. Siemens will then select two winning groups to participate in the Pujiang Innovation Forum in Shanghai, where they will receive mentoring from international advisors, have an opportunity to find capital sources, and receive publicity from the media, by which they will be able to quickly turn their innovative business models into global business opportunities.
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 165 years. The company is active in more than 200 countries, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation, and digitalization. One of the world’s largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is No. 1 in offshore wind turbine construction, a leading supplier of combined cycle turbines for power generation, a major provider of power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. The company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment –such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging systems—and a leader in laboratory diagnostics as well as clinical IT. In fiscal 2014, which ended on September 30, 2014, Siemens generated revenue from continuing operations of €71.9 billion and net income of €5.5 billion. At the end of September 2014, the company had around 357,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com
