China-ASEAN Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition 2022 winners announced

Winners of the China-ASEAN Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition 2022 share the prize money totaling 402,000 RMB (around 57,600 USD) sponsored by China's MOST. (Photo: asean.org)

Jakarta (VNA) – The ASEAN Committee on Science, Technology, and Innovation (COSTI), in partnership with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of China, have announced “Dr Hearing” and “Low Carbon Combustion Device” as the winners of the China-ASEAN Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition 2022.

Competing in the Enterprise Group category, the “Dr Hearing” project invented a hearing aid that can help to improve ear health through directional sound, an exemplary transnational cooperation with the project team from China, Singapore, and Brunei.

The second prize went to three project teams, “Castomize” from Singapore, “Intelligent Maritime” and “Robot Positioning and Inspection System” from China.

In the Team Group category, the first prize was awarded to “Low Carbon Combustion Device” project, an invention that combines data for ground-air space and new energy system applications to reduce carbon emissions. The second prize went to three teams, namely “FormaCyte Therapeutics” from Singapore, “Instant Digital Dental Restoration System” from China, and “Brain Analytics” from Vietnam.

“Brain Analytics” improves Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis by using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyse Magnetic Resonance Imaging brain images.

The competition consisted of three rounds. The competing teams showcased an innovative solution with various products in the fields of modern agriculture, bio-medicine and health, digital economy, energy conservation, and environmental protection.

The competition highlighted promising entrepreneurs, opening many doors for collaboration while enriching their entrepreneurship and innovativeness.

In his remarks, Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Economic Community Satvinder Singh stated that innovative entrepreneurs should have the ability to turn great ideas into business opportunities, enabled by science, technology and innovation (STI).

“Enterprise, entrepreneurship and STI are no longer separable. What we need now is a lucid ecosystem that empowers innovative entrepreneurs to actively pitch ideas, share tacit knowledge, develop a cross-border network, and scale up innovations in a platform like our international competition today,” he said

Zhang Guangjun, Vice Minister of MOST China, said the competition is committed to implementing the consensus on the establishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership reached by leaders of China and ASEAN at the ASEAN-China Special Summit Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations, and has promoted exchanges and cooperation on science and technology innovation between China and ASEAN countries, enhanced the regional innovation capacity of China and ASEAN.

Since the launch of the competition in August 2022, a total of 71 groups from ASEAN member states and China were selected for the semi-finals. After intense competition in the semi-final round, 20 teams (10 in the enterprise group and 10 in the team group) competed for the final crown. Winners from ASEAN and China shared the prize money totaling RMB402,000 (around 57,600 USD) sponsored by China's MOST./.