P-Innovation 2026 Final round: Empowering students to develop technology products
Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology (PTIT) successfully hosted the Final Round of P-Innovation 2026, a program aimed at fostering an innovation ecosystem within the university environment,closely aligned with the development of high-quality human resources and the creation of technology products.
Organized by PTIT with the accompaniment of Samsung, the competition contributes to strengthening collaboration between academia and industry within the innovation ecosystem.
In the context where science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation are becoming key drivers of economic growth, the establishment of open innovation ecosystems - featuring the participation of universities, and international partners - has become an urgent requirement.
With this orientation, P-Innovation has been implemented as a core component of PTIT’s strategy to build a comprehensive innovation and startup ecosystem.
After three years of organization, the competition has gradually affirmed its role as an incubation platform within the university setting, where ideas are developed into products and progressively brought closer to the market.
In the 2026 season, the competition received more than 100 projects, undergoing a six-month incubation period with mentorship from lecturers, experts, and enterprises and enterprises, enabling teams to develop prototypes, refine demos, and conduct initial user validation.
One of the program’s highlights is its promotion of interdisciplinary collaboration and expansion of international partnerships. Teams were formed through the combination of technology students and economics students from Foreign Trade University and National Economics University, integrating technological capabilities with market-oriented thinking.
According to evaluations from experts, venture capitalists, and the judging panel, participating projects in P-Innovation 2026 demonstrated diversity across fields, focusing on solving practical challenges in digital technology, education, environment, and digital transformation.
Many teams successfully developed prototype-level products with clear application directions, while demonstrating strong capabilities in technology application, market understanding, and iterative solution development aligned with real-world needs.
Upon the completion of the competition, the Organizing Committee awarded prizes to outstanding teams, including:
First Prize: Ri-force with the AURA QR EMS application - a QR-based solution for accessing medical information in emergency situations.
Second Prize: [IEC] Memotion with the MEMOTION application - an AI-powered technology platform supporting elderly care.
Third Prize: YIRLODT_IEC’s VibeCoders with the SAFEWORK application - a wearable AI system for real-time workplace safety monitoring.
In addition to the main awards, the competition expanded international development opportunities for participating teams through connections with programs such as E*5 KAIST Global (Korea) and IEDE - Innovation & Entrepreneurship for Digital Economy of Tsinghua University (China).
These opportunities enable projects to access international innovation environments and enhance their product development capabilities. Notably, the top 3 teams will be nominated to participate in Coding Fest in Australia, where they can further refine their products and validate their models in a global competitive environment.
As part of the program, the Organizing Committee presented several special awards, including:
The “Most Impressive Pitching” award (featuring an entrepreneurship course and internship opportunities supported by the VNU Innovation Startup Incubator);
The “NAB Innovation Award” by National Australia Bank Vietnam, honoring teams with strong innovation and technological capabilities;
The AWS Credit Award 2026 sponsored by Amazon Web Services, offering $1,000 - $5,000 in credits along with technical support and training in Cloud and AI/ML.
Dr Nguyen Trung Kien, Vice President of PTIT stated: “PTIT identifies innovation and entrepreneurship as a long-term strategic direction. We are committed to continuously supporting and enabling ideas, while step by step building a comprehensive ecosystem - from ideation and incubation to product development and market connection".
Currently, PTIT has assigned its Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center to further develop and enhance the innovation and startup ecosystem, focusing on key orientations such as establishing a startup investment fund, implementing incubation programs, strengthening connections with enterprises and experts, expanding international partnerships, and developing co-working spaces to support startup projects, particularly in digital technology sectors./.
