Text: St. John's University

Image: Wang Yuru (Executive Secretary of the Alumni Association and Project Assistant, Student Affairs Office)

On July 27, 2023, St. John's University of Science and Technology and the alumni company Billion Electric Co., Ltd. signed a contract for cultivating technical and vocational elites at the headquarters of Billion Electric in Xindian District, New Taipei City. Billion Electric provides full tuition and fees scholarships for freshmen and qualified students in the Department of Electrical Engineering and juniors and seniors who have passed the interview in 2023. During the winter and summer vacations, students can work or intern at Billion Electric to receive corporate training and become sought-after talents in the energy technology industry.

Tim Chen, chairman of Billion Electric, said that he graduated from Hsin-pu junior college of Industry in 1983, the predecessor of St. John's University of Science and Technology, and it has been 40 years. He never forgets his alma mater's cultivation of his personality when he was a teenager, especially the tutor of the electronics class, Mr. Song-Liang Zhou, who encouraged him to study at Mississippi State University in the United States with excellent grades, and benefited from the reputation of St. John's University in Shanghai in his early years, so that he could directly study graduate school as a sophomore, obtain a master's degree in two years in a record time, and meet the other half of his life in the United States. He is very grateful to his alma mater and does his best to give back to his alma mater.

Chairman Tim Chen pointed out that Billion Electric was established in 1973, and in 1993, he started servicing Billion and led the establishment of the communication business division, which has been 30 years so far. Under his leadership, Billion's ISDN product sales volume in 1998 was the world's top 5 suppliers; In 2000, Billion successfully listed IPO, and became a listed company in Taiwan in 2002. Although Billion is a company with a history of 50 years, it has developed new branches. In 2017, Billion transformed into the green energy and solar energy industry and established a subsidiary, Billion Watts. By 2022, it had become the top three ESS  integration company in Taiwan. He believes that Billion Watts has the operation technology of the Know-How and O&M maintenance team that integrates the system, and the trained public works engineers also have Class A electrician, Grade B technician of solar photovoltaic installation, labor safety and health supervisor, SolarEdge Kokam original technical certification and Taipower AFC qualified trader certificate...and other professional licenses. It is very suitable for students from the Department of Electrical Engineering to join the engineering and maintenance team and become professionals in smart grid, solar, energy storage and system integration power connection engineering.

President Wen-Yu Zhang said that Chairman Tim Chen is an 67th alumnus of the electronics department of Hsin-pu junior college of Industry, and he is also an outstanding alumnus of this year. Rich business experience and excellent entrepreneurship management skills, which adds honor and glory to the alma mater, and he is a model for younger students to learn. He not only provided full tuition and scholarships, supported lower classmates, but also donated 50 thousands to support the development of his alma mater at the Distinguished Alumni Thanksgiving Dinner on July 8, which made him feel touched and thankful.

"Although Billion has been through 50 years, it is at the forefront of technology." President Wen-Yu Zhang said that Billion Electric had the foresight to invest in the green energy storage industry 10 years ago, which is the latest mainstream trend like smart grid, which can allow students to see the future and prospects. He especially thanked Chairman Tim Chen for not only sponsoring the new students in the 112th academic year, but also giving the juniors and seniors the opportunity to receive full-tuition scholarships, which is not only a pioneering achievement, but also shows the support and love of the seniors for the younger students. It is hoped that students will cherish this opportunity and seriously participate in the technical elite training program to prepare rich employability and competitiveness for themselves.

http://pr.sju.edu.tw/campusnews/202307/202307-05.html

St. John's University and Alumni Company Billion Electric Co., Ltd. Work Together to Cultivate Green Energy Storage Talents

From left: Sherry from Billion Electric Marketing Department, Annie from Management Department, Chief Engineer Chen Cheng Li (Electrical Engineering alumnus), Chairman Tim Chen, Principal Wen-Yu Zhang, Dean Jun-Jie Fan and Director Nian-Zu Zhou.

Chairman Tim Chen of Billion Electric (left) and President Wen-Yu Zhang of St. John's University (right) signed a cooperation plan contract for cultivating technical and vocational elites, providing full tuition scholarships to students in the Department of Electrical Engineering.

Chairman Tim Chen (right) founded Billion Watts in 2017, and by 2022 it had become the top three energy storage system integration companies in Taiwan. His rich business experience and outstanding entrepreneuship management skills make his alma mater proud.

Principal Wen-Yu Zhang (right) gave the school's spiritual symbol crystal paperweight to Chairman Tim Chen (left).

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