Jakarta (VNA) – The ASEANCommittee on Science, Technology, and Innovation (COSTI), in partnership withthe Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of China, have announced “DrHearing” and “Low Carbon Combustion Device” as the winners of the China-ASEANInnovation and Entrepreneurship Competition 2022.

Competing in the Enterprise Group category,the “Dr Hearing” project invented a hearing aid that can help to improve earhealth through directional sound, an exemplary transꦏnational cooperation withthe project team from China, Singapore, and Brunei.

The second prize went to three projectteams, “Castomize” from Singapore, “Intelligent Maritime” and“Robot Positioning and Inspection System” from China. In the Team Group category, the first prizewas awarded to “Low Carbon Combustion Device” project, an invention thatcombines data for ground-air space and new energy system applications to reducecarbon emissions. The second prize went to three teams, namely “FormaCyteTherapeutics” from Singapore, “Instant Digital Dental Restoration System” fromChina, and “Brain Analytics” from Vietnam.

“Brain Analytics” improves Alzheimer’sdisease diagnosis by using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyse MagneticResonance Imaging brain images.

The competition consisted of three rounds. The competing teams showcased an innovative solution with variousproducts in the fields of modern agriculture, bio-medicine and health, digitaleconomy, energy co🎉nservation, and environmental protection.

The competition highlighted promisingentrepreneurs, opening many doors for collaboration while enriching theirentrepreneurship and innovativeness. In his remarks, Deputy Secretary-General forASEAN Economic Community Satvinder Singh stated that innovative entrepreneursshould have the ability to turn great ideas into business opportunities,enabled by science, technology and innovation (STI).

“Enterprise, entrepreneurship and STI are nolonger separable. What we need now is a lucid ecosystem that empowersinnovative entrepreneurs to actively pitch ideas, share tacit knowledge,develop a cross-border network, and scale up innovations in a platform like ourinternational competition today,” he said

Zhang Guangjun, Vice Minister of MOST China, said the competition is committed to implementing the consensus on theestablishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership reached by leaders ofChina and ASEAN at the ASEAN-🤪China Special Summit Commemorating the 30th Anniversaryof ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations, and has promoted exchanges and cooperationon science and technology innovation between China and ASEAN countries,enhanced the regional innovation capacityꦐ of China and ASEAN.

Since the launch of the competition inAugust 2022, a total of 71 groups from ASEAN member states and China wereselected for the semi-finals. After intense competition in the semi-finalround, 20 teams (10 in the enterprise group and 10 in the team group) competedfor the final crown. Winners from ASEAN and China shared the prize moneytotaling RMB402,000 (around 57,600 USD) sponsored by China's MOST./.