HÀ NỘI — The Swedish embassy has helped launch a nationwide competition designed to inspire Vietnamese college and university students to brainstorm ideas for environmentally sustainable production and responsible consumption in Việt Nam.

Entitled “Innovate Like a Swede”, the competition is co-hosted by the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Science and Technology, in addition to the Swedish embassy. It runs from September 18 to November 11.

The competition encourages the participating students to find solutions to help Việt Nam reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). It focuses on goal No 12, sustainable use of natural resources and environmentally conscious development.

Participants will compete to generate ideas and possible products and services that contribute to the sustainable production and responsible consumption. Their submissions to the competition can be technical solutions or concepts.

“For Sweden, reaching the SDG’s  is very high priority and as an embassy we work to promote these values in Việt Nam and to encourage an exchange of knowledge and ideas between our two countries," said Johan Alvin, the Swedish embassy’s second secretary, at the competition’s opening ceremony.

“Việt Nam faces many challenges, but with these challenges comes the opportunity to be innovative and to think outside of the box,” Alvin said. “This is something that we want to encourage through ‘Innovate Like a Swede’.”

Entries may comprise anything from completely new ideas that have not been developed to innovative ways of using existing solutions. A jury consisting of representatives from the Swedish companies and universities in Việt Nam will judge the entries on the basis of feasibility and commercial viability, degree of innovation and potential level of impact.

The winning team will be rewarded with a study visit to Swedish companies’ regional headquarters in Singapore in 2018. Runner-up teams will get internships at Swedish companies in Việt Nam. 

"’Innovate like a Swede’ will be a chance to show participants’ science creativity and a rewarding experience for Vietnamese students from all universities and colleges,” said Phạm Quang Hưng, deputy-head of the Education Ministry’s International Co-operation Department. “I hope many students will join the competition and win the award.” — VNS