The emergence of soft power has transformed the service industry into a popular industry. However, amid the massive pressure of market competition and the flourishing development of emerging technologies, how does one develop new application services and stand out in the red ocean? Under the guidance of the Department of Commerce, MOEA, the Commerce Development Research Institute (CDRI) organized the “2015 International Forum and Workshop in Emerging Technology Service and Innovative Applications” on June 11 and 12. Deputy Director-general of the Department of Commerce, MOEA Chen Mi-shun, Acting President of CDRI Wu Shih-hao and the Director of Business Model Innovation Research Division, CDRI Champion Wang all attended the event. Tai Chih-yen, the Director of Service Technology Department, Business Model Innovation Research Division, CDRI was the panelist of the forum. He introduced overseas and domestic speakers including Yasuhiro Okada, the Web Consulting Department 1 General Manager at Parco‐City Co., Ltd., Mr. Kevin Basset from Global Marketing & International Partnerships, General Manager Lin Chun-sheng from E-Da Development Corp. and Roberto Verganti, who serves on the European Design Innovation Leadership Board of the European Commission. They presented speeches on themes such as emerging technology, the application of interactive technology, technological innovation in the service field, integration between the virtual world and the real world as well as digitization through Beacon technology.

At the same time, CDRI signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with PROject Science this morning (11th). The signing was conducted between the Acting President of CDRI Wu Shih-hao and Roberto Verganti. In the future, a strategic partnership will be forged between the two parties to create added values that will benefit both parties, whether in terms of innovative service design, business model analysis or training in related fields. The goal is to elevate Taiwanese businesses’ competitiveness and innovativeness. Acting President Wu Shih-hao also shared the information with the guests in his address at the forum. He further indicated that after the collaboration is formed, Taiwan would be used as the base for major US and European companies to enter markets in Taiwan, China and Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, if Taiwanese companies intend to enter the European market, they can also receive the necessary information and assistance.