Students at the Cần Thơ University developed an automatic car spraying machine that increases productivity. It was displayed at the Engineering Projects in Community Service final showcase held on January 10. — VNS Photo Gia Lộc

HCM CITY — Three teams of students from the HCM City University of Technology and Education, the University of Đà Nẵng-University of Science and Technology, and Cần Thơ University won prizes at this year’s Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) contest.

Students at the HCM City University of Technology and Education developed a self-feeding system designed to increase the independence of people who can't feed themselves. The system is automatic and has internet interaction, nutrition records and health predictions.

Students at the University of Đà Nẵng-University of Science and Technology made a thermal jacket that warms the body in extreme weather conditions such as at sea, and is waterproof and windproof.

This product is not only a life raft but also a jacket which helps fishermen stay warm in bad weather. It is attached with GPS and has space to contain food, so it can help people face harsh weather. People can be easily found with the device.

Students at Cần Thơ University developed an automatic car spraying machine that helps raise productivity.

The three teams were chosen out of 30 teams taking part in the EPICS final showcase held on Friday at HCM City University of Technology and Education in HCM City's Thủ Đức District.

EPICS is a collaboration between the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Building University- Industry Learning and Development through Innovation and Technology (BUILD-IT) Alliance, implemented by Arizona State University and the Dow Vietnam STEM Programme.  

EPICS is both a key programme within USAID BUILD-IT’s mission to integrate project-based learning into top universities’ curricula.

During the fall semester of 2019, faculty at USAID BUILD-IT partner universities hosted EPICS faculty training and institutional showcases to share EPICS’ service-learning methods and innovations with more students and faculty.

The partner universities are also converting EPICS from an extracurricular activity into an engineering elective. The promotion of EPICS to an elective assures that EPICS will continue to help young inventors contribute to their communities as both innovative students and skilled engineers.

To further develop the students’ prototype, USAID BUILD-IT and Dow Vietnam will launch the Maker to Entrepreneur Programme in early 2020 to guide students to use market forces to scale their EPICS prototypes to viable products. — VNS