To stimulate innovative ideas from its institute Technology Development Program (TDP) execution units and institute and encourage the establishment of startups, the Department of Industrial Technology (DoIT), MOEA has promoted the “Taiwan Research-Institute Entrepreneur Ecosystem (TREE) Program” since 2021. For the technology research outcomes and teams from TDP, the TREE Program utilizes systematic and customized guidance to help build the correct mindset and skills for spin-off startups, and leverages innovative mentalities for commodification and commercialization, accelerating the growth of the startups on their innovation and entrepreneurship journey through institutes’ technology outcomes.
Evolutionary Innovation v.s Disruptive Innovation ⸺ Critical Mindsets Facilitating Taiwan’s Industrial Upgrading and Transformation
In the entire TDP system, the government mainly supports institutes, the industry, and academia. The government commissions institutes to execute TDP to develop forward-looking and critical industrial technologies and ensures sound R&D environments and infrastructure; provides the industry with financial assistance for executing TDP to reduce the risk of corporate technology R&D and increase investment willingness and uses different types of programs to help enterprises invest in the development of forward-looking industrial technologies; and subsidizes universities to train and facilitate the establishment of startups for the universities’ forward-looking technologies, hoping to enhance Taiwan’s industrial competitiveness through the improvement of technical capabilities. Furthermore, spin-offs are established through institutes and universities, and startups are subsidized through industrial TDP, in order to seize new opportunities in the future. “Industrial collaboration” and “technology licensing” are important technology diffusion methods for institutes and universities, and can contribute to industrial upgrading and transformation. Enhancing international competitiveness is also an important mission and goal of TDP. However, most enterprises in Taiwan still need to take a considerable amount of effort to change their organizational structure, operating procedures, and corporate culture even with R&D outcomes from TDP in order to maximize the benefits of relevant outcomes.
Transformation of Institutes’ Technical Capacity into Momentum for the Establishment of Startups
The TREE Program’s approach is different from those adopted by other government startup guidance programs or private incubation centers and accelerators. Its aim is to encourage institutes with more profound technology R&D capacity to break free from the mode and mindset where technology is transferred or licensed to medium and large enterprises for subsequent product development, optimization, or pilot mass production. This can give institutes’ technology R&D teams the courage to start their startups and seek investment from domestic and foreign venture capital companies or enterprises, driving the development of emerging industries in the future, creating market value using the investment, and building stronger economic momentum.
The TREE Program’s “Entrepreneur Academy” guidance mechanism introduces a professional business development agent for systematic and customized guidance. The team not only helps build the correct mindset and skills for spin-off startups, but also assists TDP system startups at different stages in various commodification verifications and internationalization. The mechanism leverages innovative mentalities for commodification and commercialization, accelerating the growth of startups on their innovation and entrepreneurship journey.
Transformation． Incubation． Acceleration: Introduction of a Training Mechanism for In-depth Startup Guidance
To overcome this development bottleneck, for the technology research outcomes and teams from TDP, the TREE Program deepens and continues startup guidance, starting from the incubation stage of startup teams and the establishment stage of startups to the development stage of the startups, through startup education and practical courses, one-on-one in-depth guidance from international mentors, international linkage, and commercial proof of concept, and has set the two goals of “accelerating TDP commercialization” and “building a startup ecosystem.”
“Accelerating TDP commercialization” focuses on developing talent’s entrepreneurship, as well as education and guidance courses, to encourage TDP system teams to start their startups, whereas “building a startup ecosystem” focuses on reinforcing international linkage and commercial proof of concept mechanisms to encourage TDP teams to build startups with emerging technology, expanding future business opportunities. It is hoped that the Program can discover technologies with commercialization potential, incubate TDP system startup teams, help start spin-off startups, provide mechanisms that help startups grow, and systematically improve the quality and quantity of commercialized TDP outcomes, thereby injecting new energy in Taiwan’s industries, shaping emerging industries, and helping Taiwan create new industrial economic value.
