Go beyond your limits

Cherishing every opportunity and always trying their best is the key to helping Gen G step out of their comfort zone to do many useful things.

Gen G consists of three young people, Hoang Minh Quan, Luong Chi Thanh, and Nguyen Trong Bach, from RMIT University Vietnam. They are one of the three teams with the highest scores in the national final round of the ASEAN - China - India Youth Leadership Summit 2025 (ACIYLS 2025) Sustainable Startup Ideas Competition.

Aspiration to create green cities

Gen G's project that made an impression at ACIYLS 2025 was called Brickular - turning waste into unburnt bricks. The theme of this year's competition is "Cultivating Climate-Positive Cities" - nurturing climate-positive urban areas, in line with the United Nations' sustainable development goals. Gen G posed the problem of sustainable construction associated with a circular economic model, making environmentally friendly brick products with the ability to cool buildings. More importantly, when buildings are demolished, bricks can still be recycled, contributing to reducing the urban heat island effect.

According to Minh Quan (22 years old, from Ho Chi Minh City), the group only took 2 months to form the idea, diligently experiment and perfect the formula for producing highly applicable bricks. Plastic, glass and seashells are ground, mixed with a special adhesive (alkali activator) and then molded into bricks. The interlocking design (the bricks fit together, with air holes for heat dissipation) helps shorten construction time.

Gen G had an excellent performance in the national final round of the ASEAN - China - India Youth Leadership Summit 2025 Sustainable Startup Idea Competition. Photo: QUOC THANG

In charge of making sample products and evaluating potential customers, Chi Thanh (23 years old, from Hai Phong) said that the group surveyed 36 contractors and construction companies in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi , and Hai Phong. Accordingly, about 83% of the units wanted to use green bricks for the ESG project, 91% thought the price was reasonable. Positive feedback from experts was the motivation for the group to believe in the feasibility of the project, boldly bringing Brickular out of the lab.

Brickular gave Trong Bach (21 years old, from Nghe An ) the opportunity to research the market, find partners and sign projects. Bach learned how to think like a businessman, identify real user needs and operate the model. Gen G aims to pilot domestically on the basis of establishing cooperative relationships with small construction companies. At the same time, the group is preparing documents to apply for international certification to qualify for expansion to larger-scale green projects.

Community Service

Interestingly, no one in the group has a background in construction engineering: Chi Thanh pursues international business, Minh Quan majors in digital media, and Trong Bach studies software engineering. But it is through careful observation and a serious work ethic that the group realizes the limitations of traditional bricks: they consume energy, absorb heat during the day, and radiate it at night, making the air stuffy. "The group realized the problem and thought together to find a way: How to make bricks not just ordinary bricks but also able to breathe, cool, and be sustainable" - Minh Quan emphasized. As for Trong Bach, trying his hand at a major he was not trained in is also an opportunity to practice thinking, improve capacity, and foster a spirit of serving the community.

From left to right: Nguyen Trong Bach - Hoang Minh Quan - Luong Chi Thanh all have their own qualities and personalities, but know how to listen, divide work, and respect each other's roles. Photo: QUOC THANG

The team had a series of testing and feedback sessions. With advice from lecturers from RMIT University Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, the team continuously adjusted the formula, finding the right mixing ratio to meet technical standards. Not only focusing on the materials, but also calculating the shape so that the bricks can withstand force, insulate and waterproof effectively.

Before Brickular, Gen G had left their mark with awards in international and domestic academic and startup arenas. Last August, they participated in the final round of Southeast Asia's largest startup competition - Startup Wheel 2025 organized by InnoEx in Vietnam with the project "Nodi - Note with you" - a smart learning application using artificial intelligence to optimize personal productivity.

Minh Quan and Chi Thanh also won four major awards: Outstanding Project, Promising Project, Outstanding Poster and Outstanding Research Team at the Global Development Public Policy Youth Innovation Contest 2025 in China. The duo continued to win first prize at the Southeast Asia Division of China International College Students' Innovation Competition 2025 in Malaysia; first prize and impressive TVC award at Green Marketing Challenge 2025; and the Innovative Prize at Univ.Star 2025. Meanwhile, Trong Bach was one of 10 students representing RMIT University Vietnam to meet with leaders of the global RMIT system, and participated in many academic, startup and sports clubs.

Not only are they passionate about studying and "conquering" many arenas, Gen G's youth is also full of non-profit activities and volunteer work. They actively contribute to the youth project on anti-human trafficking and safe migration organized by IOM Vietnam, with workshops, debates and equipping hundreds of young people with knowledge and soft skills. Thereby, spreading awareness about safe migration. In addition, they have raised funds many times to support poor children.

Ms. Tu My Khanh - CEO of M Holdings Communication Company, Head of the Organizing Committee of ACIYLS 2025 in Vietnam - commented: "Soft skills, creativity, strong aspirations, social responsibility... are valuable assets for Gen G to reach further and further". Gen G is 1 of 3 teams that will represent Vietnam to compete in the regional round of ACIYLS 2025 - held in Singapore from October 26 to 31, gathering 12 participating countries.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/vuot-qua-gioi-han-ban-than-196250830190550645.htm