STEM education

Chroma participated for the third consecutive year in the Taiwan Popular Science Train activity, a collaboration between the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) and the Taiwan Railways Administration, MOTC. The 2023 event took place from October 30 to November 3, 2023. The Chroma Foundation set up a popular science exhibition at the Taoyuan Railway Station, featuring science games related to “electricity” planned by a research team from the Interdisciplinary Science Education Center of the National Tsing Hua University. Foundation staff and volunteers from Taoyuan high schools engaged with nearly 700 elementary school pupils from New Taipei City and Taoyuan City, guiding them into the fascinating world of science through fun and engaging games.

Additionally, Chroma supported the NSTCs extended “Elementary School On-Campus Service” activity. On December 27, 2023, Chroma collaborated once again with the National Tsing Hua University. They brought the popular science curriculum, initiated at the Taoyuan railway station, to Jiaxing Elementary School in Hsinchu County and used scientific experiments to teach disadvantaged children from this rural area.

STEM Competitions

The Chroma Foundation sponsored the 2023 Spring STEM Contest organized by the Photonics Industry & Technology Development Association (PIDA). The competition, themed “Dreams at 18,” invited teams of Chinese-speaking high school students from around the world to compete. Participants were presented with scientific design challenges using the effects of sound, light, heat, and electricity in physics, chemistry, and electronic control. This fostered hands-on skills, teamwork, creative thinking, and problem-solving abilities and helped competitors take the first steps toward realizing their dreams. The competition ended successfully on July 29th in the Zhi-Ying Building at the Stella Matutina Girls’ High School in Taichung. Sixteen teams from across Taiwan and Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Malaysia) advanced to the finals. After a five-month, three-stage process of preliminary, intermediate, and final rounds, the National Changhua Girls’ Senior High School team emerged victorious as the gold medal winner with the highest scores.

STEM Competitions

For the second consecutive year, Chroma sponsored the Formula Student Taiwan, the most technically challenging engineering design competition in Taiwan, which concluded successfully in mid-July. Chroma has consistently supported student formula teams by providing essential measurement equipment and professional technical consultation, leveraging its extensive practical experience in the industry. In recent years, Chroma has deepened its collaboration with the teams by allowing them to use the Company’s in-house laboratory for equipment testing. This exchange of experience and professional technology between industry and academia ensures that the teams can compete in European races with confidence. In fact, some teams have even received acclaim from overseas judges for their pre-race calibration at Chroma’s laboratory and their adherence to industry standards.

Chroma has transitioned from assisting individual teams in challenging domestic and international competitions to becoming a long-term partner of the FST. As the teams grow and evolve, Chroma will continue to uphold its commitment to sustainable development, deepening industry-academia cooperation and fulfilling corporate social responsibility.

Talent Cultivation

Over the years, Chroma's Test & Measurement Instruments Business Unit has promoted the Premier University Project, now in its third consecutive edition, the project has engaged with universities in the northern, central, and southern regions of Taiwan, earning recognition, support and advice from the professors. In addition to ongoing collaboration with top universities this year, the project has expanded to include technical and vocational education systems to align with future trends in diverse technological applications and industries.

The project now includes aerospace engineering and electronics application fields, responding to experts in industry and academia who call for co-teaching. This enhances the opportunities for students to connect academic learning with practical employment. We have also conducted surveys using questionnaires to identify practical topics of interest to students and incorporate them into yearly course planning. This approach not only strengthens students' professional abilities but also aligns with the latest research trends.

STEM Competitions

The biennial competition is highly acclaimed, bringing together industry, government, and academic elites to promote the advancement and innovation of precision machinery and measurement technology to foster technological education and industrial development. The “2nd Chroma Precision Machinery and Measurement Technology Paper Award” commenced in June 2023 and attracted 85 student submissions. The finals and award ceremony will be held on March 14, 2024.

Scholarships

This scholarship, established by the Chroma Foundation in 2022, aims to encourage academic excellence and recognizes outstanding student performance in special fields. It rewards the children of employees of Chroma and its affiliated companies for excellence in academic achievements and personal conduct. In 2023, 47 students were awarded the Chroma Educational Scholarship. The award ceremony was held during the winter break to publicly recognize and commend the students’ efforts. Students were invited to share their learning experiences to foster mutual exchange and learning among peers.

Scholarships

Graduate students in electronics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, and computer engineering are encouraged to apply for this scholarship. Successful applicants have the opportunity to work at Chroma for two years post-graduation, this helps to bridge the gap between industry and academia. Two student applications were successful in 2023.

Talent development not only involves providing educational resources but also integrating education with industry. In recent years, Chroma has collaborated with universities to offer mandatory or elective off-campus internship opportunities, allowing students to apply their knowledge and skills in the workplace. Chroma has partnered with the Ming Chi University of Technology and the Lunghwa University of Science and Technology since 2022, to provide one-year off-campus internship opportunities. In addition to these existing partnerships, Chroma began collaborating with the National Formosa University and recruited eight interns in 2023.

Environmental Protection

Chroma has participated in the “Project Blue 1095” beach cleanup activity, initiated by Business Today, for three consecutive years. The activity aims to implement the principles of a circular economy, repurpose marine waste, and restore clean beaches in Taiwan.

Environmental Education

Chroma held its first ecological environment education outreach activity in 2023. Employees and their families were invited to experience the relationship between trees and wildlife firsthand, to understand the impact of habitat loss on species, and to recognize how different land use can affect an ecosystem. Meaningful guided tours, educational courses, and hands-on experiences at the Guishan Nursery Green Ecological Park, introduced participants to various forms of environmental education. These included both biodiversity and mountain ecological conservation. This initiative was aimed at strengthening the critical benefits of sustainable development.

Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction

To encourage employees to practice waste sorting and reduction in their daily lives and work, the Safety & Health Center and Chroma Foundation jointly hosted the Environmental Tycoon activity at Chroma headquarters. This engaging event promoted the reduction of single-use plastics, enhanced awareness of waste reduction, recycling, and resource reuse.

Circular Economy

Chroma’s environmental charitable donation drive has entered its sixth year. This event is not only an annual time for employees to declutter, but also a public welfare activity reflecting Chroma’s commitment to charity and environmental protection. The “Donate Old Books, Cherish Old Shoes, and Pass on Love to Rural Areas” event was held in 2023. Once again, we partnered with the eslite Foundation for Culture and the Arts and Step30 International Ministries. A total of 266 employees from Chroma’s Linkou headquarters (including the Huaya Plant), Hsinchu and Kaohsiung Plants participated, 632 used books were donated as well as 290 pairs of old shoes, and 1,733 items of used clothing.

Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction

Initiated by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Sydney in 2007, the “Earth Hour” event has become a global, voluntary public action to reduce carbon emissions. It advocates turning off all “non-essential lights” for one hour at 8:30 PM local time on the last Saturday of March each year.

Chroma has long promoted energy conservation and carbon reduction. In addition to supporting “Earth Hour,” we also practice energy-saving measures by turning off unnecessary lights during lunchtime in our facilities. As global climate change becomes an increasingly pressing issue, we have committed to the achievement of “net-zero emissions” at our office locations by 2030. This commitment is part of our ongoing effort to contribute to the pl anet’s sustainability.

Charitable Care

Taiwan is on the verge of becoming a super-aged society, where the population aged 65 and above will account for 20% of the total. The physical and mental health issues of the elderly are gaining increased attention. In 2023, Chroma partnered with the digital humanitarian WaCare team to introduce remote health and education courses, such as muscle strength aerobics, joint health exercises, health education classes, and online consultations for the elderly with chronic illnesses and to provide frontline care for the elderly in rural areas. The initial visit to the Yeheng tribal community in Taoyuan’s Fuxing District focused on 15 elderly individuals with an average age of 67. The goal was to address long-standing medical inequality and the urban-rural gap through technology, courses, engagement, and care.

Regional Revitalization

In addition to actively participating in public welfare activities and sponsoring academic institutions, the Chroma Foundation also supports sports in Taiwan. In 2023, Chroma supported the Hualien Women’s Football Team (Hualien WFC). The WFC was founded in 2014 and is one of the founding teams of Taiwan’s highest-level women’s soccer group, the Taiwan Mulan Football League. They are the only team in the league’s 10-year history to have won five championship trophies. The team is composed mainly of indigenous players from Hualien and is one of the few teams in Taiwan that consists entirely of local players. Established with full support from the Hualien County Government, the team combines resources from the county government and businesses. This collaboration, along with efforts from the local football committee and various schools, has made the team a successful model of local spirit and corporate investment in sports.

Additionally, Chroma supports the “Summer Charity Tour Train - Kid’s Football Camp,” where children learn soccer skills and teamwork from active players of the Hualien WFC, to showcase their abilities on the field.
(Image courtesy of: Hualien Women’s Football Team)

Charitable Care

Responding to Soapy's “Rural Area Handwashing Campaign” initiative, smart handwashing machines were introduced to rural elementary and junior high schools to promote correct handwashing habits through interactive technology. Each child’ s handwashing status is recorded, allowing teachers to quickly identify and assist those in need. When proper handwashing becomes a habit, school health and safety improve, and this practice can be extended to families, this reduces the spread of germs and viruses in areas with limited medical resources.

In 2023, 21 handwashing machines were donated to 8 schools.

Taitung County: The Luanshan, Jiana, Taoyuan, Guangyuan, and Wulu Elementary Schools
New Taipei City: The Ruiting Elementary School
Yunlin County: The Zhanghu Elementary School
Hualien County: The Sanmin Elementary School

Literary and Visual Creations

In 2023, the Chroma Foundation and Corporate Marketing Center co-organized the internal “Desktop Calendar Photography Competition” to encourage employees to actively “care about” local environmental and sustainability issues. The internal photography competition activities aimed at rooting social responsibility awareness in Chroma employees as well as support for a sustainable development path of energy conservation and carbon reduction. The calendars, featuring the selected images, were distributed widely to external clients and partners. This helped to embed Chroma’s commitment to ESG in its corporate image. In 2023, there were 82 entries from talented
creators across Chroma Group departments. The thirteen highest-scoring works featured in the 2024 calendar.