2 COUNTRIES, 2 KINDS OF DUMPLINGS, 1 DRIVE FOR INNOVATION
The Czech-Taiwanese Business Chamber and Startup Kitchen hold the first-ever Czech-Taiwanese Ideathon at the occasion of the upcoming trade delegation TWN:ROK:CZ 2023 to the Republic of Korea and Taiwan, accompanying Markéta Pekarová Adamová, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic.
WHO can apply
Software developers, startupists, data scientists, data visualization, UX/UI experts, and graduate students based or currently living in Taiwan.
You can apply in teams or individually. Startup founders are preferred, teams of graduate students are also welcomed.
Participants will be divided into mixed Czech-Taiwanese teams of 4-5 participants. There is no set agenda, every team will manage its own time to work, sleep and eat.
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CONDITIONS
Full fluency in English to benefit from the hackathon participation.
THE GOAL OF IDEATHON
To hack the growth and develop tailor-made solutions for DUMPLINGS HACK partners and the Czech-Taiwanese business community in AI/IoT, circular economy, e-mobility, healthcare, nanotechnology, and smart cities.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE
The time is ticking — the registration of the Taiwanese teams ends on March 21, 00:00 PM CST. Hurry up, assemble your Avengers Team, and apply now!
Note: The registration of the Czech teams ended on March 08, 00:00 PM CEST.
CHALLENGES
What are the brain wreckers your team will try to crack?
- CO2 EMISSIONS
- Issue: In general CO2 emissions from aviation fuel are 3.15 grams per gram of fuel, which gives CO2 emissions from a Boeing 737-400 of 115 g per passenger per km. One flight between Prague and Taipei amounts to 664 kg CO2 emissions, so how can we fight CO2 emissions? Or is the only solution to take a train?
- Brain wrecker: How to tackle CO2 emissions? Is taking a train or a boat the only eco-friendly solution?
- TAIWAN DREAM DESTINANTION
- Issue: More than 300.000 tourists visited Taiwan in December ’22, however, could this number be increased? There are many remarkable places to visit so how to promote Taiwan as a tourist destination?
- Brain-wrecker: What tactics would double to triple the number of tourists until the end of 2024? How to promote Taiwan as the dream tourist destination? Can we utilize any lessons learned from other countries?
- LANDING SOFT INTO A NEW MARKET
- Issue: Expanding to a new market is an arduous process. Without local connections and knowledge of the local market and culture, a Czech company/startup expanding to South-East Asia might fail easily. Vice versa, a Taiwanese company/startup testing the waters of the CEE region might crash as easily. At the same time, there are various well-established institutions that provide high-quality services of B2B matchmaking and partnership building.
- Brain-wrecker: How to connect the companies/startups considering business expansion with the already existing institutions? How to promote these institutions? What virtual tools or platforms can aid the promotion of Czech-Taiwanese business relations?
- WINDOW SHOP CZECH BRANDS
- Issue: Websites have become the digital business cards of every company — they are the first place to go when checking a new potential business partner, a new product, or a service. Besides the plentiful, more and less technical factors that determine the ‘fate’ of a website in SERP, the netizens’ requirements on the UX/UI parameters are soaring with gamification and virtual reality taking over.
- Brain-wrecker: How to stand out in the infinite digital ocean of websites? How to create an interactive website for Czech brands to attract a Taiwanese audience, from Gen Zs to boomers?
- Unlock Innovation: Unleash the Potential of Technology Transfer!
- Issue: Technology transfer refers to the process of transferring knowledge, skills, or technology from one organization, individual, or country to another. It can include a wide range of activities such as licensing of intellectual property, joint ventures, collaborations, spin-offs, research and development partnerships, and the sharing of scientific and technical knowledge. Technology transfer often faces challenges such as insufficient funding, inadequate collaboration between academia and industry, limited public-private partnerships, inadequate commercialization experience, and potential bureaucratic obstacles. Together, we can identify innovative solutions to overcome the challenges and obstacles in technology transfer and drive the growth of the innovation ecosystem.
- Brain-wrecker: What are the main challenges and obstacles that need to be addressed to promote effective technology transfer, and how can they be overcome? What can be done by the state to support Technology transfer? What could make a good tool to boost Czech-Taiwanese relations in Technology transfer? What is the state’s role in supporting innovative ideas to become reality, and what actions can be taken?
- OPEN CHALLENGE
- Didn’t like any of the above? Come up with your own challenge that will improve the relationship between Taiwan and the Czech Republic! Once you have the idea, email it to tom@startupkitchen.community and we will let you know!

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MAIN PRIZES
Does the winner take it all? What can you expect to win?
- st Place
- Symbolic Trophy, One-year-membership in the Czech-Taiwanese Business Chamber, Interviews with leading Czech media outlets, Company presentation at the Main Startup Stage at the Smart City Summit & Expo (Thursday, March 30), Interview with TaiwanPlus, the leading English-language news platform in Taiwan, Opportunities to self-promote and grow your network with Czech and Taiwanese business partners, Media coverage
- nd Place
- One-year-membership in the Czech-Taiwanese Business Chamber, Interviews with leading Czech media outlets, Company presentation at the Main Startup Stage at the Smart City Summit & Expo (Thursday, March 30), Opportunities to self-promote and grow your network with Czech and Taiwanese business partners, Media coverage
- rd Place
- Entry to the Smart City Summit & Expo (Thursday, March 30), Opportunities to self-promote and grow your network with Czech and Taiwanese business partners, Media coverage
Every other participating Team also gets the chance to participate in the business delegation program, may be invited to some of the business meetings, and can attend the Smart City Summit & Expo.
JURY MEMBERS & WINNING CRITERIA
And who’s gonna be on the Jury:

Mitch Yang
Managing Partner of CEE Fund Taiwania Capital, Taiwan,

PETR OCKO
Director of Czechinvest, Czech Republic,

柯旂 Chi Ko
Supervisor of Global Affairs, Business Next Media

ALICE REZKOVA
Co-Founder of Czech-Taiwanese Business Chamber, Czech Republic,

Bimal Kapoor
Deputy CEO, TaiwanPlus
Jury Members will not judge the code or finished product (there just won’t be enough time), they will focus on the idea and its innovativeness, originality, and impact on the selected topic.
PROGRAM

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IDEATHON NEWBIE
Brace yourself for a very intense “allnighter” of 36 hours spent ideating, prototyping, coding, and learning about Czech & Taiwanese culture. Participants will be divided into mixed Czech-Taiwanese teams of 4-5 participants. There is no set agenda, every team will manage its own time to work, sleep and eat.