The University of Wisconsin kicked off “Foxconn Days” Thursday, a two-day event aimed at increasing student and alumni interest in Foxconn jobs and internships and showcasing new technological developments from the Taiwanese technology company.

Foxconn is partnering with UW to promote research collaboration between UW students, staff and alumni. Foxconn also hopes to get Wisconsinites involved in its Smart Cities – Smart Futures competition.

Foxconn’s Director of U.S. Strategic Initiatives Alan Yeung explained the $1 million competition aims to hear from Wisconsin’s young people, who he said have some of the best ideas. 

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Any higher education student in Wisconsin can write down ideas, take a video, shoot picture or craft a narrative of what a smart city should look like, Yeung said.

The competition’s goal is to harness innovative technological solutions that enhance everyday life. The $1 million Foxconn has committed to the competition will be distributed to participants over three years in financial awards, technical support and in-kind contributions.

Yeung said the skills students will learn from internships and employment with Foxconn could help them immensely in the future. Foxconn is currently recruiting across Wisconsin for several hundred positions, including jobs in software engineering, law and marketing.

“The skills and the knowledge and the training they get would be actually very powerful,” Yeung said.

One of Foxconn’s new developments is an 8K camera and TV screen, which could be used in the medical field, Yeung said. Superior to the human eye, he said it can be used to diagnose patients with skin conditions by using artificial intelligence programs Foxconn is also developing. 

The company has also invested in a project by Sotera Wireless called ViSi Mobile Surveillance Monitoring System. ViSi provides continuous monitoring of a patient’s pulse rate, blood pressure and other bodily functions, which is then relayed directly back to a monitor at a nurse’s station.

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“[I came to see] what Foxconn is like and maybe learn about some job opportunities,” sophomore Jiazhi Yang said. He was impressed by the 104-foot 8K video wall Foxconn brought in.

Yeung encourages students to be proactive when approaching Foxconn.

“[We want students] to say, ‘I want to be a part of this Foxconn experience,’” Yeung said.