From E-Sports to AI: OCU and ASUS Join Forces to Build a Comprehensive AI Talent Incubation Hub

Edited and reported by Digitimes

For a long time, it has been common for tech companies to sponsor colleges by providing upgraded hardware, fostering stronger partnerships between corporations and educational institutions. Located in Taichung, Overseas Chinese University (OCU) began a collaboration with ASUS three years ago. As part of this partnership, OCU’s Department of Information Technology established two E-sports Classrooms equipped with ASUS-sponsored products to train aspiring e-sports athletes. Recently, in collaboration with the Taichung Government, OCU hosted the E-Sports Carnival, inviting talents from all quarters to compete in its E-sports Classrooms. This initiative has played a pivotal role in nurturing collegiate e-sport athletes in central Taiwan.

Building on the success of their past collaboration, OCU and ASUS strengthened their partnership this year by establishing the first AI-powered PC classroom among major technology universities in the Taichung Metropolitan Area.

OCU Launches the AI PC Classroom to Nurture AI Professionals in Central Taiwan

Dr. Lee Kuo-Liang, head of OCU’s Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management Design, stated that OCU recognized the importance of nurturing professionals in AI two years ago, given their pivotal role in advancing digital technology. He referenced a public speech by Benson Yeh, Deputy Minister of Education, who highlighted Taiwan’s pressing need for AI experts in the future. According to Yeh, the Ministry of Education is actively working to cultivate talents in areas such as AI model development and problem-solving, which are critical to AI expertise. In response to this domestic demand for AI specialists, OCU introduced several AI-related courses two years ago. However, the concept of establishing a dedicated AI classroom soon emerged to support these courses, providing students with the resources and environment needed to excel in AI development.

Dr. Lee Kuo-Liang noted that while traditional PCs are capable of handling AI-related tasks, they are often inefficient, requiring significant time and effort, which can negatively impact the quality of students’ projects. This inefficiency creates challenges for both students and instructors. However, the three-year collaboration with ASUS made the vision of an AI classroom a reality. As part of this partnership, ASUS provided ROG NUC equipped with NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4060 Laptop GPU. These compact devices offer exceptional heat dissipation and powerful AI hardware performance, enabling OCU to optimize space while setting up the AI classroom.

At the current stage, students at OCU's College of Business and Management can leverage existing AI tools to streamline various tasks, such as text-to-image and image-to-text conversions, report outlining, and video editing—processes that can all be efficiently handled by AI. The next step in advancing their capabilities will involve integrating AI tools with business applications to address more complex challenges and develop innovative solutions.

Dr. Lee Kuo-Liang also emphasised that while hardware infrastructure is essential, the development of AI-related courses plays an even more critical role in fostering AI professionals. For instance, the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management began offering AI-focused courses two years ago, including art design courses utilising AI, as well as courses integrating AI into business strategizing and drone designing. Certainly, launching these courses would not have been possible without providing prior training for the faculty, ensuring they were well-equipped to teach and guide students in these advanced topics.

OCU Will Continue Close Collaboration with ASUS to Expand Future Opportunities in AI

From training e-sport athletes to developing AI experts, what does the future hold for OCU? Dr. Lee Kuo-Liang shared that for OCU's College of Business and Management, the AI classroom is just the beginning. Plans are already underway to establish Digital Marketing Exhibition Rooms and Drone Classrooms, which will be integrated with the AI classroom to form the AI Digital Marketing Center. On the academic front, OCU intends to explore new possibilities by combining courses and leveraging data. Investment in faculty development will also be prioritised. Looking ahead, OCU plans to maintain a strong partnership with ASUS, collaborating on diverse courses to equip students with cutting-edge skills.

The collaboration between OCU and ASUS highlights the strategic progression from the E-sports Classroom to the AI Digital Marketing Center, laying a robust foundation for supporting digital technology and AI talent in central Taiwan. With the support of powerful AI PCs and a diverse range of AI courses, OCU empowers students to leverage cutting-edge technology for innovative learning experiences. This integration of discovery and interdisciplinary approaches in AI applications reflects OCU’s forward-thinking vision of bridging education with industry.