This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Lite-On Award. In accordance with our key principle of "innovation," we have expanded the scale of the contest by integrating resources from various sectors. In addition to the Design Innovation Category that has existed for years, the Technical Innovation Category has been added to the contest this year. This newly established category provides cross disciplinary innovators with a new stage to demonstrate the results of their teamwork. Winning entries also show great potential to be commodified. To help winning entries successfully be commodified and to support start-ups, the Lite-On Award is collaborating with FutureWard, offering designers space, equipment and consulting services. Together with partners including Merck, DuPont, Advantech and COWTAI, the Lite-On Award provides recourse from the industry and the academia to further push for the marketability of the entries. By virtue of the industry experience of our partners and their sensitivity to the market, the Lite-On Award is striving towards the realization of innovative ideas, producing prototypes and cultivating young talenst. For the first time, the Lite-On Award has invited venture capital institute to join the judging panel this year. They reminded the contestants to pay attention to commercialization and consumer habits during technological research and development, which helped innovative inventors find their niche in entrepreneurship.

Based on calling for innovative ideas on the field of optoelectronic, eco-friendly and intelligent technologies, the 2015 Lite-On Award receive more than 1,678 entries from around the world. First established this year, the "Technical Innovation Category" received entries from many different disciplines. Many entries focused on bringing solutions to current issues. Among them, solutions regarding water pollution and food safety were most favored by the judges. The Department of Chemical Engineering from National Taiwan University, competition debutants this year, won both the Gold Award and the Silver Award. The Geomimetic Membrane, winner of the Gold Award under the "Technical Innovation Category," is developed from the world's most advanced water filtration and analysis techniques, capable of recycling industrial water, solvents, acids and alkalis and other liquids through solid-liquid separation, which may change industrial process, lower environmental damage and reduce water waste. “The Heavy Metal Catcher(HCM),” winner of the Silver Award, is an application of micro-plasma light-emitting technology. It detects whether the content of heavy metal in food and liquid exceeds safe standards by using a smart phones, which further ensures the safety of food and drinking water. Designed by a team from National Central University, “Adaptive Street Light” was awarded the Bronze Award for its innovative qualities that enhance both energy saving and road safety.

National University of Singapore won the Gold Award and Silver Award under the Design Innovation Category. “Rebound,” the winner of the Gold Award, comprises exercise equipment that prevents muscle atrophy for patients confined to bed. The judges all approved of this entry because it has a compassionate purpose, uses readily available materials, and solves existing problems. “Instant Relief,” a design that means to rescue a large number of shipwreck survivors within the golden 72 hours, was awarded the Silver Award. “Sea Burial+,” winner of the Bronze Award, is a new-fashioned sea burial system that combines spinning and sinking water-soluble urns and a smart phones app. The "virtual urn" resonates with Asian people's respect toward the deceased. The judges were impressed by such a combination of culture and innovation. Many winning entries of this year not only demonstrated advanced creative opto-electronic technology, but also combined long-term care and disaster relief, showing young innovators' concern for public issues.

Every year, the Lite-On Award invites internationally renowned design masters to serve as the judges. This year, members of the judging panel of the finalists under the Design Innovation Category included Hamaguchi Hideshi, the inventor of USB flash drives, Tim Kobe, who co-designed the App Store with Steve Jobs, and Huawei's SVP Joonsuh Kim. As the speakers of the Lite-On Award International Forum, they also discussed with the audience how to change lives and the world with creative design, encouraging young designers to fulfill their entrepreneurial dreams.

The Lite-On Award is now in its 15th year. From working with Commonwealth Magazine for online learning at the beginning of the contest, the works that were entered into the contest, to the venture assessments in the end, the Lite-On Award always adhered to the principle of innovation, and will continue to encourage young innovators and offer them a stage to commercialize their works, so that they can build their start-ups to fulfill and realize their career aspirations.