By My Nhien
TVU – From November 15 to November 17, 2024, at Nguyen Tat Thanh University, the Final Round of the 2024 Thu Duc Design Thinking – Open Innovation Competition took place with the theme “Innovation Ideas for Future.” The competition is a playground for young entrepreneurs, promoting creative thinking and innovation in the startup community and creating strong connections between universities, businesses, and the international startup ecosystem.
The competition creates a breakthrough playground, helping teams from all over the country and internationally have the opportunity to demonstrate bold and practical ideas. Young entrepreneurs present their ideas on this occasion and receive feedback from leading investors, advisors, and experts. In addition, the competition contributes to building a vibrant startup community where innovative ideas can be transformed into practical values.
Launched in September 2024, co-organized by Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Thu Duc City Trade and Investment Promotion Center, and Eastern PDCA Entrepreneurship Training School, with the support of the Design Thinking Village – Vietnam Network of Higher Education Innovation Entrepreneurship Center (VNEI) and many sponsoring enterprises.
After the idea evaluation, product development, and business model evaluation, the jury selected nine projects for the Final Round. At the end of the competition, the NatLife Project – RePoly Sustainable Materials of the student group from Tra Vinh University excelled and became one of the 3rd-place runners.
According to the Organizing Committee, the team that won the Champion prize received a trophy and 20,000,000 VND, a startup support package equivalent to 150,000,000 VND, and a 12-month incubation package at NIIC worth 120,000,000 VND. The runner-up team received 10,000,000 VND and a 12-month incubation package at NIIC worth 120,000,000 VND; the teams that won the 3rd prize received a reward of 5,000,000 VND and a 6-month incubation package at NIIC worth 60,000,000 VND; The Encouragement Prize winner received an award of VND 3,000,000 and a 3-month incubation package at NIIC worth VND 30,000,000.
Huynh Phat Tai – Group leader of the NatLife Project – RePoly Sustainable Materials, said: “The competition inspires creative startups, and it is also an opportunity for our group to participate in exchanges and learning, promoting the common development of the creative startup ecosystem. The comments from the judges help to perfect the project.”
| The “NatLife – RePoly Sustainable Materials” project focuses on recycling plastic, especially PET plastic bottles, and creating sustainable materials for the textile and consumer industries. The project strives to reduce plastic pollution, protect the environment, and save natural resources such as oil and gas while providing a sustainable alternative source of raw materials for the fashion industry. In addition to reducing plastic waste, especially in oceans and coastal areas, RePoly also raises public awareness through communication campaigns and cooperates with local organizations to encourage recycling. In addition, the project contributes to creating jobs for people through collection, sorting, and recycling, helping to improve lives and connect the community with the mission of developing a green, sustainable economy. |
