Vietnamese team wins Google Solution Challenge 2022 for first time

The Vietnamese team has landed in the top three positions at the Google Solution Challenge 2022 contest for the first time. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - Surpassing more than 835 projects worldwide, the project of a four-member Vietnamese team has landed in the top three positions at the Google Solution Challenge 2022 contest for the first time.z

In the tournament's final round on July 28, the Gateway project of the team from Ho Chi Minh City-based Hoa Sen University surpassed seven other finalists to become one of the three best projects at the event, which had no first, second, or third ranking.

The two other winners are the Xtrinsic project from the University of Freiburg in Germany and the Blossom project from the University of Waterloo in Canada.

The four members of the Vietnamese team are Nguyen Dang Khuong, Truong Hoang Duy, Nguyen Vo Dang Cao, and Nguyen Manh Hung.

Every solution was graded on a 100-point scale and on two criteria: impact (60%) and technology (40%).

Each member of the top three teams received a prize of 3,000 USD and a certificate from Google.

The competition's overall goal is to find solutions to problems facing local communities by using one or more Google technology platform products.

This year's contest focused on how to help address issues related to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, gender equality, and clean water and sanitation, among others.

Created by the United Nations in 2015 to be achieved by 2030, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, agreed upon by all the 193 UN member states, aim to put an end to poverty, ensure prosperity, and protect the planet.

Among the 835 projects in the contest, 74 were from Southeast Asia, including 16 from Vietnam.

Gateway is a technological solution that creates an open-source system for digital COVID-19 medical declarations at checkpoints without human assistance or intervention.

The project's main goal is to ease pressure on health workers, communities, and businesses to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic which started hitting Vietnam in early 2020.

The Gateway team introduces the project (A screenshot from the video on the project)

"Gateway is a useful and appropriate solution to be applied at the entrances of all buildings and schools, helping to control the COVID-19 pandemic more effectively and minimise cross-contamination," Vietnamese team member Khuong said.

The project uses Angular, Firebase, Flutter, Google Cloud, TensorFlow, and Progressive Web Apps and connects users to the COVID-19 digital registration system.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals mentioned in the solution include Good Health & Wellbeing, Sustainable Cities and Partnerships.

Sharing their feelings about the contest, the Vietnamese winners said that when participating in the Solution Challenge 2022, they were very happy and excited as they will have an opportunity to obtain more knowledge and experience and together develop products from original ideas with the desire to help the community drive back the COVID-19 pandemic.

The competition has provided an opportunity for young students to apply the technologies they have learned to solving difficulties in the environment and social life, thus encouraging them to realise useful ideas for their community's development.

"Through the contest, we are also fuelled to pursue our passion for technology, encourage self-study, and become more proactive in every work. We thank Google for creating a playground for the IT student community to try ourselves and inspire young people," said the team representative.

He said that the project received a lot of support and encouragement from the community of 23 Google Developer Student clubs across the country and from Hoa Sen University on this successful journey.

This is the first time a Vietnamese team has been among the top three winners of the Solution Challenge, an annual contest organised by the Google Developer Student Clubs (GDSC) community./.