The Administration for Digital Industries (ADI) of Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs (MoDA) held the "2024 DIGI+ x TCA x Equality Joint Achievement Exhibition" on November 27. The event featured innovative projects co-developed by trainees and mentors, along with a Digital Equality Forum that highlights a vision for a more diverse and innovative digital future.

In her speech, Director Ming-Huei Tong of the Policy Planning Division at the ADI highlighted the "Interdisciplinary Digital Talent Acceleration Program," launched in 2017 to cultivate talent with digital thinking and interdisciplinary skills. By 2021, the program expanded to include international students. To date, it has trained nearly 2,600 talents, including 240 international students from 38 countries. It has also offered 80 Taiwanese students interning in 12 countries. The program provides Taiwanese students digital empowerment and career opportunities while helping international students stay in Taiwan or continue collaborating with Taiwanese businesses after graduation.

In response to the increasing societal focus on digital equality, the ADI has launched the DIGI+Talent Digital Academy. The academy offers courses in five essential areas of the digital economy: artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), smart content, data science, and digital marketing. These resources are available to both individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially in remote areas. The academy, with no time or space restrictions, aims to promote digital equality. By the end of this year, it expects to reach 80,000 learners. The event also featured a Digital Equality Forum, where experts discussed topics such as rural digital transformation, talent development for businesses, and the localization of AI tools. The forum strives to explore insights on achieving equality and inclusivity for businesses and talents in the era of digital innovation.

The ADI continues to foster interdisciplinary talent development through practical training programs, where Taiwanese and international students form multinational teams to engage in digital skills training and hands-on projects. This year, 27 companies and 7 public institutions mentored 158 Taiwanese students and 45 international students from 18 countries.

After 200 hours of training and practice, 39 projects were recognized. The first-place award went to Taiwan's Ship and Ocean Industries R&D Center for its "Tao-bao—Development and Research of an Intelligent Remote-Controlled Underwater Vehicle with Dancing Capabilities" project.

The Digital Equality Forum proudly hosted distinguished speakers, including Yi-Chun Chou, Vice President and General Director of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) College; Dr. James Chang, Chairman of Ai3 Co.; Hsing-Tzu Lin, Associate Professor of the Department of Information Management at National University of Kaohsiung; and Bo-Han (Jerry) Wu, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) & Founder of the Accelerate Private Machine Intelligence Company (APMIC). They shared their experiences and insights on navigating the wave of digital transformation from the DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) perspective with youth and business attendees.

With nearly 100 participants, the lively discussions concluded the Joint Achievement Exhibition on a high note.