Solve for Tomorrow: Taiwanese Students Turning Tea Residues into Eco-Friendly Innovations

Taiwan’s 5th Solve for Tomorrow focuses on sustainability and encourages Taiwanese students to use their technological skills to address social and environmental issues with creative solutions. In the semi-finals, the 15 qualifying teams have just completed the "Design Thinking Workshop" coaching course. The 2023 first prize winner, KC team, was also invited to share their experience during the workshop. They explained how the entire process fueled their growth and inspired this year’s participants to turn their dreams into reality and become their own heroes.

When discussing how Taiwan's popular hand-crank beverage shops can implement environmental protection, people usually think of using eco-friendly cups or avoiding plastic straws. However, Kate and Catherine had a different perspective. In 2023, they participated in the Taiwan Samsung Solve for Tomorrow under the name "KC Team" and won the first prize. The experience significantly impacted their subsequent learning process and entrepreneurial plans, boosting their confidence for the future.

The KC team's project, "The Road to Recycling Tea Dregs," uses discarded tea residues from hand-crank beverage shops, which are common in Taiwan. They recycle these residues into oil-absorbing paper and supply them to river protection groups, the food industry, and other stakeholders concerned with water quality. Using IoT technology principles, when the collected tea residue reaches a certain weight, a push notification is sent to the recycling industry, promoting collaboration among beverage shops, oil-absorbing paper factories, recycling operators, the food industry, and environmental groups to form a complete economic cycle.

Kate and Catherine were in the same class and shared a strong interest in STEM subjects. They quickly chose each other as partners upon learning about Solve for Tomorrow. As a new generation attentive to ESG issues, they believe that solving environmental problems is crucial for a comfortable life. After considering various issues like nuclear pollution, solar energy, and battery recycling, they decided to focus on something closer to daily life. They realized that innovative ideas with a closer connection to daily life could have a broader impact.

Both students agreed that the Design Thinking workshops and online one-on-one coaching sessions were the most valuable aspects of participating in the competition. Kate mentioned that their initial project idea focused on environmental protection and recycling. However, after weeks of coaching sessions, their mentor helped them rethink the project's relationship with different stakeholders and how to persuade and attract support. This process led to the development of proposals that met actual needs and gained relevant people's willingness to adopt them, eventually commercializing the idea.

Catherine shared, "After entering the semi-finals, Samsung provided offline design thinking workshops and online one-on-one coaching courses. In the workshops, we first understood the basic concepts of design thinking. Since we were grouped with other teams, there were many opportunities to exchange ideas with other participants. We learned how to compile information and opinions from various sources. In the online coaching course, under the guidance of mentors and industry experts, we gradually improved our proposals, allowing us to view our work from multiple angles and avoid blind spots caused by a single perspective."

After nearly ten months of hard work, KC's project on recycling tea residues was unanimously recognized by the jury in the finals. The judges praised the team's project for its strong basis in daily life and its comprehensive proposal that provided a complete support system rather than just a single solution. The team's practical efforts in implementing the oil-absorbing product were also highly commended.

Looking ahead, KC hopes to continue using the skills they gained in Solve for Tomorrow, such as proposal writing, implementation, and presentations, in their future studies and entrepreneurial endeavors. They aim to further develop their proposal and eventually commercialize the oil-absorbing paper to bring it to market.

Taiwan launched the Solve for Tomorrow "Innovative Thinking, Heartfelt Technology, Sustainable Future" in 2020, now in its fifth year. The Education Bureau of the Taipei City Government has also served as a guiding unit. The finals will be held on November 29, 2024, with sustainability experts invited to join the final judging panel.

Meet the future heroes of Solve for Tomorrow: 2023 Taiwan First Prize Winner KC Team