The Innovative Startup Program took place from December 15, 2023, to December 24, 2023, and officially concluded by crowning the winner of the "Startup Ideas - Innovation" competition in 2023.
The program attracted nearly 120 students participating in training sessions and inspiration creation. There were 24 participating teams with 72 participants from 10 universities in Ho Chi Minh City. Twenty-four ideas/projects were submitted for the preliminary selection, and officially, 22 ideas/projects participated in the hackathon and the final round. The active participation of students within and outside the university can be considered a success for this year's program.
Throughout the journey of participating teams, we experienced three training sessions, inspirational talks, and a Q&A sharing session. This knowledge contributed to helping the teams understand and impress the judging panel in the final round through a 5-minute pitching session on stage on December 24, 2023. The competition rules were also adjusted to align with the real situation. After a long day of training, participants officially entered the hackathon phase—a 24-hour challenge without sleep to complete a 10-slide PowerPoint file and a video under 3 minutes (which can be found on the OEP fan page). These concise requirements indeed posed challenges for participants since most presentations usually include more than 10 slides.
After a challenging two days, the organizing team believes that each participant has created fond memories with their teammates.
Every competition has its conclusion, opening new journeys for the participants. Beyond 22 teams in the final round, the team "NOVA UNIVERSE" consisting of students Nguyen Le Trong Nhan (4th year, UIT), Nong Thi Yen (2nd year, FTU2), and Ho Vu Minh Quang (4th year, UIT) won the championship. The Second Prize went to the team "Sứ giả xanh" (Green Ambassadors) of first year UIT students, and the Third Prize was awarded to the team "OCO" of second year UIT students. During the final round and award ceremony, the organizing team also presented two Encouragement Awards to the teams "HELICOPTER" and "Dog là Mèo" (Dog is Cat), along with certificates for all participants who joined the hackathon.
The organizing team sincerely thanks for the interest and support from Mr. Le Nhat Quang - Director of the Innovation Entrepreneurship Center (IEC); Ms. Phan Thi Huyen Tien - Chairman of VCCB - Community CEO Vietnam; Mr. Pham Thanh Tuan - Lecturer/Entrepreneurship expert, National Innovation Entrepreneurship (Level 1), and Mr. Thai Chuong, Founder and CEO of Cohota, for their wholehearted assistance in the program in general and the competition in particular. Moreover, the program would not have been successful without the attention and participation of all students. Once again, thank you, and see you in the upcoming programs organized by the OEP.
Article and Images by the Organizing Team of the Innovative Startup Program 2023
Link to the full album of the entire program is available here. Please choose the photos that we all are beautiful!
For more details, visit: https://oep.uit.edu.vn/vi/recap-chuoi-chuong-trinh-khoi-nghiep-sang-tao-nam-2023
Ha Bang - Media Collaborator, University of Information Technology
Nhat Hien - Translation Collaborator, University of Information Technology
