Open data will pave the way for the development of the digital economy.

Seminar “Development Orientation and Product Support for the Data for Life Competition”.

At the Techfest 2025 opening ceremony held on the evening of December 13th, the winners of the Data for Life competition were announced and awarded prizes. According to the final results, the first prize went to the Cheppy team; the two second prizes were awarded to the Intron and Factorem teams; and the third prizes went to the Viditec, Thăng Hoa, and Landbase teams.

The Data for Life 2025 competition is chaired by the Ministry of Public Security , in coordination with ministries, agencies, universities, localities, technology companies, and innovation organizations both domestically and internationally. Entering its third season, Data for Life continues to affirm its role as a platform connecting data, technology, policy, and market, contributing to the promotion of the national innovation ecosystem.

Also within the framework of Techfest 2025, the Organizing Committee of the competition held a seminar titled "Development Orientation and Support for Data for Life Competition Products". The seminar provided a space for exchange between the organizing unit, the judging panel, and the winning teams to discuss ways to support, improve, and develop the products after the competition, aiming for practical application and commercialization.

Lieutenant Colonel Luong Thi Thu Trang, representing the Data for Life competition organizing committee, stated that including an exhibition round in the competition structure helps to more accurately assess the ability of products to meet market needs. Competing teams not only present their ideas but also must demonstrate how their products operate in practice, how users access them, and their scalability during deployment.

Lieutenant Colonel Luong Thi Thu Trang, representative of the Organizing Committee of the Data for Life competition.

The Organizing Committee also emphasized the three-party model, comprising the state, schools, and businesses, which was applied throughout the competition. In this model, connecting investment funds, sponsoring businesses, and innovation centers was identified as a key element, aiming to create conditions for products to continue to be incubated, developed, and put into practice after the competition, rather than just receiving an award.

Speaking at the seminar, Ms. Pham Thu Ngan, representative of the first-place winning team, said that participating in Data for Life helped the product not only improve technologically but also directly access the market. The greatest value of the competition was providing an opportunity to verify whether the product was truly suitable for the Vietnamese market. The team also expressed their desire to receive further support in terms of policies and connections to expand the application of the product, especially in the context of English being planned as a compulsory subject from grade 1.

Ms. Pham Thu Ngan, representative of the team that won first prize in the Data For Life competition.

Mr. Isaac Tan Tang Yue, representing the second-place winning team, expressed his gratitude to the competition organizers for creating an open platform that facilitated direct exchange and mutual learning among domestic and international teams. The team also hopes to expand data technology and AI to Vietnam and connect with domestic manufacturing businesses to build a sustainable supply chain between Singapore and Vietnam.

Mr. Isaac Tan Tang Yue, representing the team that won second prize in the Data For Life competition.

Mr. Ngo Quoc Thai, representing the Organizing Committee, stated that the Data for Life competition clearly demonstrates the direction of the Organizing Committee and the Vietnamese Government in promoting the application of science and technology to serve the essential needs of life, considering data as a new "gold mine" to create momentum for the development of the digital economy .

According to him, the Data for Life program not only seeks technological ideas but also aims to build an innovation ecosystem based on data, linked to practical problems. To make future seasons more effective, the competition needs to continue innovating its format, adding more relevant problems, and especially expanding the data sources for participating teams; at the same time, the government needs to play a more proactive role in open data mechanisms, creating conditions for the community and businesses to exploit and develop products and services.

Mr. Ngo Quoc Thai, representative of the Organizing Committee.

In addition, Mr. Ngo Quoc Thai emphasized the need for computing infrastructure support for startups and technology solution development teams, especially AI application teams like Cheppy. According to him, the biggest challenge for startups today lies not only in the idea or model, but also in the ability to access a sufficiently powerful computing platform while still controlling operating costs.

Drawing on Singapore's experience, he stated that the country has implemented AI support programs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups by directly providing high-performance server infrastructure and computing systems, in addition to financial support. This is an approach Vietnam can learn from to create a more favorable innovation environment and effectively support SMEs and technology development teams in the future.

The feedback from the Organizing Committee, the Judging Panel, and the winning teams demonstrates the great potential of Vietnamese technology businesses, especially startups. The Organizing Committee believes that these products will find a place in the market if they continue to be refined, supported, and guided in the right direction.

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