NTNU Industrial-Academic Team Receives National Recognition
National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) is proud to announce that Pade Technology, a company founded by faculty and students in the Graduate Institute of Electro-Optical Science and Technology (IEO) at NTNU, has been awarded the Best Startup (Cross-Category) Gold Medal by the 2025 Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA). The winning entry, ReFiber One, is a smart system for low-carbon textile recycling. The team was subsequently received by President William Lai Ching-te at the Presidential Office on 2 February, accompanied by Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Digital Affairs Isabel Hou Yi-hsou in recognition of this award’s significance.
The Awards: APICTA
Informally dubbed the 'Oscars of the ICT industry,' the APICTA Awards is one of the most prestigious technology competitions in the Asia-Pacific region. The event for 2025 was held 4-8 December with 256 entries from 12 Indo-Pacific economies. Taiwan's delegation achieved an outstanding overall result of 10 gold, 8 silver, and 6 bronze medals—its best performance thus far. During the presidential audience, President Lai praised Taiwan's growing strength in ICT and AI innovation, and encouraged continued collaboration among industry, government, and academia to harness technology in building an inclusive and sustainable digital future.
The Technology: ReFiber One
ReFiber One is an intelligent identification system that integrates electro-optical sensing with advanced AI algorithms to accurately analyze contamination levels and complex fiber compositions in discarded textiles. The system has been fully integrated into Pade Technology's electro-optical AIoT recycling equipment, enabling a low-carbon, rapid, and zero-waste textile circular economy pipeline.
The technology has garnered significant international attention. ReFiber One has been showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show, Taiwan's Innovation and Invention Expo, and international circular economy forums. Most notably, it received the highest honor at the Digital with Purpose Global Sustainability Award, earning recognition from both the global sustainability community and the ICT industry at large.
A Model of Industry-Academia Collaboration
At the heart of this achievement is Ching-Yuan Chang, a doctoral student at NTNU's Graduate Institute of Electro-Optical Science and Technology, working under the supervision of Professor Jen-Jie Chieh. Chang’s current research delves into AI, low-carbon technologies, and textile ESG applications.
Since his first year of doctoral study, Chang has participated in the Ministry of Education's Grants for the Academia-Industry Joint Cultivation of PhD Students, which connected him with Pade Technology as part of a structured, practice-oriented training plan. His trajectory exemplifies NTNU's commitment to cultivating advanced talent who can bridge academic research and real-world industrial application.
Chang's master's thesis, Design and Implementation of a Waste Textile Classification and Identification System Based on Spectral Smoothing Techniques, was awarded the Outstanding Thesis Award (first place) in the AI Application Competition at the 18th TSC Thesis Award, hosted by the Taiwan Management Institute. That achievement had earned Chang and Professor Chieh an earlier invitation to the Presidential Office, where they met with Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim to discuss how their research supports Taiwan's textile industry in pursuing low-carbon transition.
A University Committed to Research, Innovation, and Sustainability
NTNU regards this recent APICTA Awards sweep as a validation of its institutional strategy: to cultivate talent and generate knowledge through a model grounded in research excellence, industry-academia partnership, and a commitment to sustainability Ching-Yuan Chang’s journey from doctoral research to award-winning startup and national recognition demonstrates what becomes possible when universities intentionally integrate academic inquiry with entrepreneurial ambition and social purpose.
Source: Graduate Institute of Electro-Optical Science and Technology (IEO), National Taiwan Normal University