Foxconn Reveals First-round Winners of “Smart Cities—Smart Futures” Competition

Kenosha, WI – Foxconn Technology Group (Foxconn) announced the selection of 88 first round winners of the company’s “Smart Cities—Smart Futures” competition, an initiative that encourages the sharing of fresh ideas and unconventional thinking for the benefit of Wisconsin. During a ceremony hosted at Carthage College, Foxconn recognized outstanding ideas submitted by students, faculty, and staff from the University of Wisconsin System, the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the Wisconsin Technical College System.

The “Smart Cities—Smart Futures” competition promotes innovative ideas to enhance quality of life, improve working environments, expand transportation networks and living spaces, inspire creative city planning, and promote sustainable energy solutions in Wisconsin. The competition was open to students, faculty, and staff at all University of Wisconsin (UW) campuses, technical colleges, and independent colleges in Wisconsin. First round winners will receive $500 to help further develop their projects.

A panel of 50 judges from partners in academia and the private sector evaluated a total of 325 submissions and determined the 88 submissions that will proceed to the second round. The highest share of ideas was in the energy and environment category. Other ideas fell into the following categories: mobility and transportation, education, e-health, software, the Internet of Things, smart homes, robotics and manufacturing, and big data analytics.

“The “Smart Cities—Smart Futures” competition has been a catalyst for encouraging impactful ideas from the brightest minds in Wisconsin, for Wisconsin. The success of the competition and the quality of submissions speaks to the power of partnerships. As Foxconn continues to partner with the Badger State, its academic institutions, and its industrious people, there’s nothing we cannot achieve,” said Alan Yeung, Foxconn’s Director of U.S. Strategic Initiatives.

“Foxconn is grateful to every student and faculty member who invested their time and energy to participate in this competition. Everyone who took part has distinguished themselves and demonstrated they share a commitment to improving the quality of life in their communities,” he said.

As part of the “Smart Cities—Smart Futures” competition, Foxconn will provide up to $1 million in cash and in-kind technical support in awards over the next three years.

Round Two of the competition starts in mid-December and runs until January 31, 2019. Each submission will be evaluated independently by four judges who will use six criteria to develop a numeric score. Up to 50 winners will be selected and announced on or before January 31, 2019. The winners of the second round will also be invited to participate in the third round of the competition, which starts from March 1st and runs through March 31, 2019.

Foxconn has partnered with the University of Wisconsin System, the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and the Wisconsin Technical College System on the “Smart Cities—Smart Futures” competition. In addition to the academic partners, the competition is also supported by several groups, including the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, the Wisconsin Technology Council, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the WiSys Technology Foundation, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and the UW-Milwaukee Research Foundation.

For more information about the competition, please visit: https://wismartcities-smartfutures.com/. Social media efforts for the competition are underway with the Twitter handle @SmartCitiesWI and hashtag #SmartCitiesWI, a Facebook page (facebook.com/SmartCitiesWI), an Instagram page (Instagram.com/smartcitieswi) and a LinkedIn page (linkedin.com/company/smartcitiesWI).

About Foxconn Technology Group

Established in 1974, Foxconn Technology Group (“Foxconn”) is the global leader in manufacturing services for the computer, communication, and consumer electronics (3C) industry. A multinational company headquartered in Taiwan, Foxconn offers many of the leading U.S. and international companies in electronics a one-stop integrated manufacturing solution.  Foxconn generated total annual revenue of $158 billion in 2017 and was ranked No. 24 on the 2018 Fortune magazine Global 500. The company has facilities in Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

Foxconn is leveraging the potential of cloud computing, mobile devices, the Internet of Things, Big Data, artificial intelligence, networks, and robotics and automation, in its transformation as a leading high-tech enterprise and industrial Internet company. The company has research centers and testing laboratories internationally and has received more than 83,500 patents worldwide.  In addition to maximizing value creation for customers, Foxconn is also dedicated to enhancing the concept of environmental sustainability in the manufacturing process and serving as a best-practices model for global enterprises.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.