The third “Taiwan Tech Youth Entrepreneurship Star Selection”, organized by the Taiwan Tech Outstanding Alumni Association, has completed its final selection after a five-month initial and secondary screening process. The team “PASS+ Tech”, primarily composed of Taiwan Tech students, won the grand prize with their “FAST A.I. Ticket Verification System System”, achieving a startup fund of 1 million NTD.

The “PASS+ Tech” team won the third “Taiwan Tech Young Entrepreneurship Selection”, achieving a startup fund of 1 million NTD. From left to right are: Taiwan Tech President Jia-Yush Yen, EDBA/EMBA Alumni Association Chairman and team mentor Kun-Hu Weng, “PASS+ Tech” team member Ming-Chih Hsieh, Taiwan Tech Outstanding Alumni Association President Hung-Yi Chen, and “PASS+ Tech” team members Tzu-Yu Chou and Tzu-Hsien Lin.

Hung-Yi Chen, President of the Outstanding Alumni Association and Chair of the Final Selection Committee, stated that the Young Entrepreneurship Selection gathers the abundant industry resources and experience of Taiwan Tech's outstanding alumni, combined with the university's strong entrepreneurial support system, to cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit among students. This initiative aims to enhance the success rate of technology commercialization and create social value, fostering a positive entrepreneurial cycle on campus.

Hung-Yi Chen said that the selection attracted 26 teams in its third edition. Through initial, secondary, and final rounds, a total of 42 enthusiastic alumni and industry mentors conducted 56 sessions of guidance and training. The winning teams were selected by seven outstanding alumni entrepreneurs, with evaluation criteria including market value and scale of products or services, competitive advantages, prototype development or business model integrity, investment potential, team composition, and execution capability.

Taiwan Tech President Jia-Yush Yen (left) presented a certificate of appreciation to Hung-Yi Chen (right), President of the Outstanding Alumni Association, thanking the association for its support of the Taiwan Tech Young Entrepreneurship Selection.

The “PASS+ Tech” team consists of 4 students from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Industrial Management, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, and Department of Industrial Design at Taiwan Tech, along with a student from the Department of Industrial Design at Tatung University, combining expertise in mechanical and manufacturing, design and presentation, and business models and feasibility.

Team leader Ming-Chih Hsieh, a second-year master's student from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Taiwan Tech, noted the average time it takes for a concert event from queuing up before entering to taking a seat is 45 minutes. Last year, Taiwan's temporary labor cost for performance activities was nearly NT$9. Therefore, some curatorial manufacturers put forward the need for industry-university cooperation at the New Generation Design Exhibition. In the end, the “PASS+ Tech” team found solutions to the manufacturers' pain points. In response to this issue, the team developed the “FAST A.I. Ticket Verification System” which replaces manual ticket verification with automation to enhance efficiency. The hardware development is complete, and future plans include integrating additional features to increase added value.

The schematic diagram of the “FAST A.I. Ticket Verification System”.

The schematic diagram of “FAST A.I. Ticket Verification System”. On the left is the ticket machine displaying information, and on the right is the functional ticket gate with code scanning and ticket card sensing.

The “FAST A.I. Ticket Verification System” business model will be implemented in three stages. First, the ticket verification services will be introduced to the market using machine systems, reducing the temporary labor costs for event organizers during ticket verification, with revenue generated from the rental of this service model. Next, the team will attempt to integrate AI-related features into the system, creating additional services through AI as a source of extra value, while also allowing a broader range of customer groups to use the product. In the third phase, the team will collaborate with ticketing system providers to integrate performance service content, establishing a complete brand team that offers comprehensive performance contracting services.