On August 3, 2019, AUN/SEED-Net Secretariat representatives participated in TECH PLAN Demo Day, an acceleration and pitch competition organized by Leave a Nest Co., Ltd at Platform E, SIM Management House, Singapore. The theme of the competition was “Deep-tech,” with particular focus on technologies that can address and solve different global issues and problems.
The Secretariat was truly impressed by all the 14 finalists who presented their innovative ideas and creative solutions to solve real world problems to the panel of judges from Japanese and local organizations. One of the finalists was Dr. Pham Trung Kien, an AUN/SEED-Net alumni. He won the grand prize from TECH PLAN Demo Day in Vietnam and was invited to join the session in Singapore along with grand winners from other Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand.
Back in 2005, Dr. Pham Trung Kien first joined AUN/SEED-Net family by applying for our scholarships. He was awarded scholarships to study master’s degree program at University Sain Malaysia (USM) and doctoral degree program at Kyushu University, Japan, in the field of materials engineering. At the TECH PLAN Demo Day, Dr. Pham Trung Kien presented his research on advanced materials for environment under the theme of “Sustainable method to obtain silica from rice husk”.
For the Secretariat, it has been a pleasure nurturing the seed like Dr. Pham Trung Kien and witnessing him grow to become a technology planter. The event also provided great opportunity for AUN/SEED-Net members to expand and strengthen the network with external partners for future collaborations.
More information of prize winners can be found at TECH PLANTER’s website: https://en.techplanter.com/2019/08/05/indonesia-team-tech-prom-lab-won-the-grand-winner-of-tech-plan-demo-day-in-singapore-2019/
