Le Van Chung could not hide his happiness when his seven-member team from Duy Tan University won first prize in the information technology (IT) category at the Vietnamese Talent Awards 2017 held on Thursday evening.

“No words could describe my feelings now. I can only say that this is the most unforgettable moment of my life,” Chung said. “We, seven people, worked on our project for five years. We are happy to receive positive feedback.”

The team won its prize, presented by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, for its design of a 3D human body simulator that facilitates teaching, learning and research in health science.

Phuc said at the awards ceremony that fostering talents was of great important to the prosperity of the country. He added that the Vietnamese Talent Awards, initiated by Viet Nam Study Promotion Association, had created a campaign of continuous learning and innovation at all ages, over its 13-year history.

“It’s time for self-taught talents and the youth to start up together with scientists to promote innovation for the future of our country,” Phuc stressed. “Our country will develop strongly if we can take the opportunity and promote the brainpower of Vietnamese.”

The industrial revolution 4.0 was bringing many opportunities and it was critical for the country to promote talent and innovation to avoid lagging behind, he said.

Phuc said that Viet Nam was determined to develop a transparent and constructive Government to encourage every potential and promote innovation, adding that the Government could also make use of innovative solutions.

Phuc appealed to Vietnamese talents in every field to create a society of learning and innovation.

The Vietnamese Talent Awards, first held in 2005 to honour inventions in IT and then expanded to other fields—namely science and technology, environment, health and talent promotion—is now a launching pad for young businesses and start-ups.

Other products honoured this year include a multi-functional agricultural machine, an advanced technology application for reproductive health care and raising population quality, a kidney transplant operation, the app service connection Rada and spell checker DoIT.

Promote real-life application

Chung said that his team still faced difficulties in applying the product in real-life situations.

The product has been implemented for one year at Duy Tan University and a clinic in Da Nang City and received positive feedback from students as compared to traditional learning methods.

“However, we meet with difficulty in bringing our product into real-life application due to a lack of hospital budgets for this and our lack of relations with universities,” he said. “We hope that our product will be widely known and applied at universities and hospitals.” — VNS