Vietnamese team wins int’l smart city initiative competition

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Binh Duong leaders and organisers awarded the 2018 Smart City Initiative to the iNut Smartcity team from Vietnam’s University of Economics and Law

The Vietnamese team won the grand prize worth 100 million VND (4,300 USD) with its Internet of Things application, the organising board announced on October 12. 

The SK2 team from Hannam University (the Republic of Korea’s Daejeon city) won the first prize worth 70 million VND (3,000 USD) with an initiative to manage waste treatment from plants using blockchain technology.

The organisers also awarded consolation prizes and several other awards to the remaining teams.

The contest was organised with the preliminary round and semi-finals taking place in Binh Duong city and Daejeon city. 

Fourteen teams passed a vigorous selection to compete in the final round held on October 10 in Binh Duong province, with more than 100 smart-city solutions from universities across Vietnam and 26 solutions from 13 universities in the Republic of Korea.

Each team consists of three to four students from schools, colleges or universities from both Vietnam and the Republic of Korea. 

Each team was given 10 minutes to present their creative ideas and 15 minutes to answer questions from judges after they finished their presentation in the final round.

In addition, all winning individuals and teams will receive an additional entrepreneurial support package from the Becamex Business Incubator (BBI) at Eastern International University (EIU) based in Binh Duong city. 

Launched in July, the contest, co-organised by the Binh Duong People’s Committee, the WTA and Daejeon city, is one part of the activities for the 20th Anniversary of the WTA. 

The contest focuses on smart urban management, healthcare, culture and tourism, smart education, public services, environmental energy, urban agriculture and smart production.

The criteria include new and innovative features, feasibility for application to real life, improving the quality of life, and socio-economic effectiveness.

Mai Hung Dung, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the contest aimed to create an environment for creative ideas in smart urban construction in Binh Duong.

Kang Byung-Joo, secretary-general of WTA, said: “The event provides opportunities for Vietnamese and Korean students to exchange and share knowledge and develop their creative talents to serve the community, deepening the friendship between the two countries.