Tracking Talent Through Techathon

Pershing Technology Services Corporation (PTSC) wrapped up it’s 3rd Hackathon this Fall. Combining the terms Technology+Marathon, this “Techathon” ran with the subtext of “Light a Spark,” with the hope for creating a platform for prospective Gen Z professionals, giving participants a chance to highlight their talents before entering the workspace. In this piece, I give an inside-out perspective of the Techathon from my own viewpoint as the only non-native, non-tech background observing the activities as PTSC’s Chief Learning Officer (CLO).

Forty Years Strong

Besides Pershing’s 3rd Hackathon, 2022 is a special one for PTSC as the company celebrates its 40th anniversary. On the heels of winning the 30th Annual Award for Small and Medium Enterprises in Taiwan in 2021, and the Deloitte Best Managed Company Award in 2022, the company continues to expand and grow as it reaches towards a more global market. As part of this growth and transformation, PTSC is also taking its first steps towards greater market capital with the official launching of the IPO process. With a more global perspective and a future with even closer ties to the company’s stakeholders and investors, Pershing has put a greater focus on its mission of “smart technology with heartfelt service,” a stronger drive towards ESG initiatives, as well as outreach towards the HR resources and young talent that Taiwan has to offer the world.

“I like to compare Pershing turning 40 to a large ship going out to sea. We know the direction of our destination, our dreams. As we continue our voyage, we need to continue to repair our vessel, to make it stronger. The more adjustments we make along the way, the farther out to sea we’re able to go.” Sean Chen, PTSC Chairman.

There is an ancient Confucian expression that when a person turns forty year old, they have a clarity of purpose: “四十不惑”. Seen here are members of the Pershing team celebrating the company’s 40th birthday at the Taipei office. Displaying the PTSC core value of “Passion” raising both arms in the air is CEO DI Lee.

“As we reach 40, we have a more powerful concept and deeper wealth of experiences related to the hardship and joy we’ve met along our journey — we’re able to see things from a calmer and more rational perspective. Externally, we have a greater understanding of society; internally, we have a greater understanding of ourselves. This more holistic understanding gives us a stronger sense of purpose and responsibility.”— PTSC Head of HR, Nancy Chang

As Pershing accumulates experience and steps into new territory with the official launch of the IPO process, the company does its utmost to keep in step with the pace of change on and off the island. Taiwan continues to open up as the government expands on its post-covid policy to one of co-existence with the virus. Hosting in-person and hybrid events has become ever more valuable to the growth and health of any organization. As CLO, I can sense a recharged electricity and energy in the air as the company prepares to go public, offering greater chances of investment from past, current, and future stakeholders. In November, Pershing employees traveled to the coastal region of Hualien and Taidong to add more shared experiences, facilitating colleagues coming together to enjoy each other’s company, both in and out of the office.

Big changes are afoot for Pershing! Seen here are members of PTSC with supporters from Deloitte and Taishin Securities Firm on the day of the launch and signing of the IPO commitment process. “Pershing’s IPO public offering plan will help the company’s succession and sustainable operation,” Honorary Chairman and Founder of Pershing, Frank Chen.

Colleagues continue to participate in webinars and events ranging from cybersecurity to the topic on the tip of everyone’s tongue — “digital transformation”. The leadership is also taking the bold step forward for office redesign in a deliberate effort to move away from a more conservative workplace with a traditionally steady and metered pace, towards one that is more open and conducive to agile team collaboration, hybridization, necessary risk-taking, and innovation. It is fitting that the Techathon transpired amidst the fast-pace of internal transformation, echoing the rhythm of global trends in the background.

PTSC’s 3rd Hackathon — “Techathon: Light a Spark,” channeled the energy and spirit of university students, the future of the industry. The 15 teams that entered the final came from 23 universities and 37 departments, not only information technology students, but also departments such as the Department of Business and the Department of Medicine.

“The purpose of holding this hackathon was connected to three main areas: encouraging an innovative spirit, enhancing the company’s image, and finally building a stronger connection between university students and PTSC so that we can attract more talent.” PTSC CEO, DI Lee.

Lighting the Spark

When I arrived at the Hackathon, the location was bubbling with the excitement that reminded me of an audience before the opening of a new Broadway musical. PTSC staff and organizers were roaming about in company polos, ushering the student participants to their booths or towards the stadium seating to await the opening. Some of the students were nervously setting up final touches or last-minute edits to their presentations. Various members of PTSC staff were filming and interviewing Techathon participants, the excitement and anxiety palpable on their facial expressions and in the rushed tones of their voices. PTSC Chairman, Sean Chen, had a confident and commanding smile on his face, but I could tell that he was also in his head and ready to give the opening remarks to the event. Towards the front of the room was a row of judges, two of which were full-time staff of PTSC, Meta Liu from the company’s Center for Strategic Innovation, and Bird Hsu, head of PTSC’s Technical Development Unit and Deputy General Manager of PTSC.

With more than 20 years of experience in IT development solutions, specifically focusing on the area of finance and technology (fintech), Bird Hsu was an appropriate inside man for the job as one of the judges for the Techathon event.

“This event can help Pershing in finding exciting new talent. As a judge, it was refreshing to see what made each of the teams stand out from one another. Each one of them had their own individual strengths.” Bird Hsu

As one of the leading members of PTSC’s Center for Strategic Innovation (CSI), Meta Liu is faced with the challenge and opportunity of providing innovative AI solutions, including Pershing’s smart service robot to clients.

“I think these presentations and ideas have some relevant connections for starting points we can build upon with our AI team.” Meta Liu

The participants themselves were brimming with excitement and hopeful for votes during the event. Besides the two representatives from Pershing, there were two other judges who would give the students scores. One of them was National Taipei Professor, Chen Yingyi, from the Department of Information Engineering of the University of Science and Technology. Prior to the start of the presentations, he gave a lecture which analyzed blockchain technologies and the Fast ID Online (FIDO) identity authentication mechanism. PTSC’s Bird also gave a short lecture expounding on the future trends of banking and FinTech. Both of these presentations set the tone for the day before the students presented their own innovative ideas.

A member from PTSC’s Technical Development Unity (TDU), Amy Chen, interviews participants for the Techathon as they prepare for their presentation.

“These students were full of energy. It makes me think of when I was a student, and I didn’t have to focus so much on the tough realities of the business world. After entering the workforce, it’s a challenge to keep that innovative spirit burning without being stifled by the need to make a sale. I’m really glad I have the opportunity to participate today and interview the students. We can feed off this energy!” PTSC Technical Development Unity (TDU) Sales, Amy Chen.

Although not all of the ideas are necessarily compatible with PTSC’s current products or primary customer base, the spirit of innovation and optimism is certainly something that Pershing can use to help power through to potential future markets and products. I was inspired by the energetic eruption of ideas coming from today’s recent graduates and hope to channel some of that spirit within the company.

Although the ideas that the teams of students presented had a wide range of focus, all of them reflected upon topics that the current graduating class considers important and connected to future societal challenges and opportunities. The groups gave brief introductions of their products, including the reasoning for choosing their focus. Shortly after their introductions, they gave a bit of background on the technology and processes involved in the development of their products, how the products could benefit the customer base they were aiming for, etc. After their presentations, there was a Q&A session with the judges.

Seen here behind the judges desk are Bird Hsu and Meta Liu. It was not an easy process for the judges to score, and they made sure to ask poignant and detailed questions to the participants. In this image, Meta asks a group questions about their product while Bird takes notes.

“Before this event, I actually didn’t know anything about Pershing. When our team was deciding to join the Techathon, we looked up some of the judges’ information and learned PTSC focuses on IT solutions. I really love the location the company picked for this event — it feels open and has a cutting-edge technology vibe to it — not so stuffy or formal. The environment and atmosphere really reflects and promotes a spirit of innovation.” — Student Participant from PTSC’s Techathon.

PTSC Chairman, Sean Chen, seen here with the winning team from the Techathon.

The team that received the most points from the judges presented a product designed to protect migrant workers from financial scams. The teams tying for silver presented one product designed to create an AI system to prevent money laundering, while the other group introduced a product that would help monitor the healthcare of pets for pet owners. Another entry included a product that uses AI technology to monitor eye movement of drivers and alerts them of driver-fatigue. There was a group that built upon the reality of the post-covid world where physical contact is minimized by creating voice-operated interactive wall/screen that could be used in the future offices. Another group created a comprehensive and user-friendly social media interactive platform.

One of the participants from the Techathon introduces his team’s product which focuses on how AI can assist pet owners. In this slide he notes the importance of choosing the right care provider for one’s pets, as well as how pet owners can save time and energy through effective use of an online platform.

Building Bridges with the Next Generation

As PTSC continues to mature, longtime employees accumulate experience and expertise; however, at the same time these seasoned veterans need to ensure that the organization keeps its finger on the pulse of current and future trends. The best way to accomplish this goal is to build and maintain multiple bridges with strong foundations that link current employees with the energy, ideas, and spirit of of the students who are looking to enter the workforce. Events such as the PTSC Techathon are just one way for students to bring the vibe of youthful innovation to the company, as well as giving these students a chance to familiarize themselves with the needs of the industry. In order to keep the connection, PTSC needs to proactively build and maintain bridges through various, sustainable methods. In addition, I hope that PTSC can continue to persist in finding new, outside-the-box ways of connecting with Gen Z and younger students including. Below are some current initiatives, as well as others that are works-in-progress:

1. Mini-Hack: Online/Offline/Hybrid. This is an event that is still in the development phase where members of PTSC and groups of students share innovative or new technology-related ideas or potential solutions— these can be unfinished or in progress. These can include teams that mix-up professionals and students and wouldn’t take as much time or resources as a full-on hackathon. In this low pressure environment, participants could present ideas that are still “rough” around the edges and workshop them through collaboration in real-time.
2. Online Learning and Sharing Sessions — Quick Share: PTSC holds monthly learning/sharing events such as Quick-Share where employees use 5 minutes of their time to share take-aways from something they are learning recently (technology-or non-tech related). These are online meetings that help give participants a chance to exercise their presentation and time management skills (5 minutes only!) as well as informing others of areas of learning that may be new and unexplored. Students could easily join these online sessions and add a new element to the activities.

There’s no reason learning has to be so painfully serious. PTSC’s Learning Lunches are a way to share knowledge in a collaborative and relaxed environment.

3. Learning Lunches: These are much like the Quick Share sessions mentioned above, but they are held in-person. These are normally small group lunches where colleagues share what something they have learned recently over a casual lunch. PTSC likes to hold a combination of on and offline learning opportunities, and including potential tech innovators to join our learning lunches would be a welcome addition.

4. English Lunches: Every week PTSC hosts online English language lunches where colleagues and English-language enthusiasts outside of Pershing participate in casual chatting during the lunch break. This is a great way for colleagues and students to engage in conversation and get to know others using English in a low-pressure environment.

5. Crash Code Community: Online/Offline/Hybrid. This is another “work-in-progress” event that PTSC can host where coders submit challenging code or tech-related questions that they are facing in their studies or work to discuss and solve in a limited amount of time. By making the event open to students and potential cross-company collaboration, the participants would be able to rub shoulders and learn from partners that they have never collaborated with before, giving them fresh perspective on the real issues they are facing.

Seen here is Pershing Chairman, Sean Chen giving the commencement address during PTSC’s Techathon Demo Day. For more information about PTSC, feel free to check out our Facebook page, as well as the company’s official website.

“Students came up to me during and after the Hackathon and praised Pershing for the organization of this event, telling me that they would continue to spread the word about PTSC and join future events. Besides students, events like this also help show other companies what Pershing is doing as well. I really want to thank everyone in the company for helping to make this event so successful.” PTSC Chairman, Sean Chen.