DELTA INSIGHTS
Launching the Strategic Flagship Program to lead the enterprise’s AI transformation
Interview with Mr. Tei-Wei Kuo, Chief Technology Officer of Delta
Text by BMD 2024/06
Is Delta ready for the AI wave sweeping across industries? In this issue, the Brand Management Division has specially invited Mr. Tei-Wei Kuo, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), for an interview. The CTO has long been dedicated to cutting-edge technological research across various fields and transdisciplinary innovation. With a wealth of experience spanning academia and industry, he shared with colleagues how to effectively integrate resources from strategic planning to execution, enhancing the technical blueprint for Delta's solutions.

Implementing academic research into practical industry applications, injecting vitality into enterprises
On the day of the interview, it happened to be almost 100 days since the CTO took office. In three months, the CTO office team has been tirelessly engaging with external partners, internal business groups, and corporate function divisions in order to fully understand and integrate the needs of each group.

With over thirty years of experience in academia, the CTO shared with the interview team his observations since he joined Delta. "What sets Delta apart from other enterprises is its continuous pursuit of innovation and excellence. From the management to general staff, from products to technical planning, there is a strong vision and determination to constantly push boundaries and challenge the highest standards, which aligns with the success principles of academia." Facing the challenges of the AI era, the CTO believes that Delta is ready.

"I hope to establish a benchmark for industry R&D standards and aim for global industrial advancement." Transitioning from academia to industry, the CTO has clear expectations and goals for himself. He hopes that by implementing forward-looking research, the innovative energy from academia will become a force for the long-term competitive development of the enterprise.
CTO’s All Hands Meeting - DRC and CTO Office members in Taipei, Hsin Chu, Tainan, Wuhan, Beijing, and SG.

Initiating the strategic flagship program, embracing the industrial AI revolution
The CTO pointed out that Delta has been making significant preparations for digitalization, especially over the past decade, and has been gradually accumulating data. However, the current quantity and quality of data may not be sufficient to cope with the wave of the AI revolution.

"AI is actually just a tool. If we aim to enhance our competitiveness, the talent, organizational operations, and internal thinking of the company must be adjusted accordingly. This is essential to truly achieve industrial AI transformation, rather than simply just using AI." The Chief Technology Officer further explained with an example that with tools like AI, the way we interact with customers will obviously be different. Not only can we provide more personalized services, but also respond more quickly to customer needs. Therefore, it is crucial for a company to quickly establish relevant infrastructure, including: collecting, organizing, transforming, synthesizing, and sharing big data, as well as ensuring data privacy. These new practices, technologies, data collection methods, and design processes all need to be adjusted quickly, or else we won't be able to meet the rapid changes in the market. In the era of AI, being able to master AI allows for greater productivity and creativity.

The CTO further shared about the ongoing "Large Language Model (LLM) Strategic Plan" in the CTO office, "Through this plan, we are forming a joint team to build foundational capabilities, including big data preparation, standard establishment and risk management, mastering key technology capabilities, and adjusting talent organization, so that the team's energy can also grow collectively." We are now collaborating with Building Automation Business Group (BABG) and Energy Management Service (EMS) team to launch the LLM Plan based on Delta's core value of "energy saving." It is very worth looking forward to. At the same time, we are working with the IT team to prepare for the Training for Trainer project, with courses expected to be offered in August and September. This project aims to enhance the professional skills of internal talent in large language models, ensuring that they truly grasp the key technological expertise.

Promoting international collaboration among research talents, expanding deployment of R&D manpower
In addition to initiating key strategic plans, the CTO is also actively involved in talent recruitment programs. In the interview, he specifically mentioned that "talent is the most important asset for continuous innovation in a company." Since March of this year, the CTO office has been communicating and coordinating with HR and other business groups on a quarterly basis, creating a platform for internal discussion focused on Delta's talent needs and goals. The CTO has also visited campuses in person to give several speeches, aiming for deeper interactions, "to let more outstanding talents understand Delta and join Delta!" .

"Not only students, but professors and teachers are also important partners for Delta. We look forward to multifaceted collaborations, such as professor residency research or training programs, to strategically connect with academic expertise and bridge talent development." .The CTO hopes that in the near future, attention will be focused on cultivating and acquiring international talent resources, especially since Delta's production sites have expanded globally. We should seek more diverse international talent from different countries and simultaneously expand the layout of overseas research centers.

Interdepartmental collaboration forms joint teams to launch key technologies and maximize synergy
The development of key technologies requires an effective coordination and communication mechanism. The CTO Office and Delta Research Center (DRC) will work together to play a role in front-end technology exploration and integration, further understanding the feasibility of technology implementation with the business groups. From strategic planning to execution, there need to be consistent strategic goals in order to truly achieve synergy.

CTO’s “daily life”- communications, discussions, and meetings with the teams.

At the end of the interview, the CTO encouraged colleagues to maintain competitiveness in the AI era by focusing on three directions. First is "domain expertise," which is Delta's inherent strength. Second is "AI professional knowledge," where employees can learn by doing and leverage online resources for self-learning to effectively utilize AI. Lastly, "engineering capability," where the CTO Office will collaborate with corporate functions and business groups to actively launch relevant research and management training programs to support colleagues in progressing steadily.

"This is a technological revolution that we cannot be left behind! Along the way, there will undoubtedly be challenges and setbacks, but it is only by going through them, by trying and failing, that we will find the path to success. Let's work together and look forward to Delta's journey towards AI transformation! ''