The Genesis – Creative Startup Ideas for Female Students 2024 competition is implemented within the framework of Project 939 – Supporting Women in Startups of the Central Committee of Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU), with the mission of raising students’ awareness of the Party and State’s policies on startups. At the same time, the competition also contributes to the implementation of the national goal of enterprise development and promoting the National Strategy on Gender Equality. The competition not only focuses on finding feasible startup plans but also creates a premise for a broader startup movement among female students, helping students have the opportunity to learn and apply specialized knowledge in practice.

The Genesis 2024 competition was launched in April. Over the course of 7 months, the competition has gone through rounds of idea submission, school-level preliminary rounds, and school-level final rounds at each partnering unit. The organizing units are universities, academies, and colleges across the country. Nearly 40 ideas were selected to enter the national preliminary round. After challenging rounds and the tireless efforts of the teams, the 16 best teams officially entered the national final round. The teams were divided into three main groups, including the technology application group, the social group, and the business group, with unique and meaningful projects.

Speaking at the event, Ms. PHAM Thi Thanh – Deputy Head of the Department of Supporting Women in Economic Development – Central VWU emphasized: “Women not only play an important role in the family but are also indispensable factors in building and developing creative business and startup ideas. The Genesis Competition is one of the launching pads to help ideas shine, contributing to promoting the progress and comprehensive development of women in the economic field.”

On behalf of the Organizing Committee of the competition, Assoc.Prof. Dr. TRAN Quang Tien – President of Vietnam Women’s Academy (VWA), Head of the Organizing Committee of the competition said: “VWA is proud to be the organizer of the Genesis – Creative Startup Ideas competition for female students for many years. The competition has inspired and promoted the entrepreneurial spirit of female students and students in the 4.0 era in general. I wish and hope that, after this competition, the participating teams will strive and be determined to realize their business ideas with the support and companionship of teachers and businesses.”

Assoc.Prof. Dr. TRAN Quang Tien also emphasized the role of universities in creating an environment that promotes creativity and entrepreneurship. According to Assoc.Prof. Dr. TRAN Quang Tien, educational institutions need to continue developing startup support programs, connecting students with businesses and the investment community, thereby opening up opportunities to realize potential ideas.

At the event, the Organizing Committee presented flowers to thank the coaches of the competing teams, sponsors and judges.

Right after the opening ceremony of the final round, 16 competing teams were divided into 3 boards: Business Board, Social Board, and App-usage Board and competed in an impressive, attractive and competitive atmosphere.

Contest teams present their startup ideas

Contestants have 15 minutes to present their startup idea, convince the judges of the feasibility of their unique business idea through products developed from that idea, and answer questions.

The Board of Judges will evaluate the ideas and products of the participating teams based on the following criteria: Ability to contribute to the community and society; Feasibility; Efficiency; Uniqueness, creativity, and other distinct values; Sustainability of products/services; Production and business plans and risk assessment; Solutions for building distribution channels; market development and expansion; Potential results of the project; Implementation resources; Key partners and solutions for raising capital to implement the project; Communication channels; Ideas with a minimum viable product to illustrate reality; Ability to present, present and answer questions of the project team.

The Board of Judges

After an objective and fair evaluation process, the judges found the winners of the awards in 3 competition categories:

Business Board:

  • First Prize: Team Bamboo Light – Hoa Binh University
  • Second Prize: Team Green Lamp: Decorative art lamp from eggshell – Vietnam Aviation Academy
  • Third Prize: Team HEYCA: Regular gift box delivery service with specialties from different regions of Vietnam – East Asia University of Technology
  • Consolation Prize: Team Jasmeach: Peach and jasmine jam – Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment; Team The light: Planning for The Light Travel company – Hanoi Metropolitan University; Team FOREVER: Developing tourism along with organizing events through unique art performances with the theme “Artistic journey – Connecting tourism” – Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology

Social Board:

  • First Prize: Team StarEdu: Building a learning material system to support the education of escape skills for primary school students – Hanoi Metropolitan University
  • Second Prize: Team Continuos: Brago Kids Drawing and Creativity Set – Vietnam Women’s Academy
  • Third Prize: Team Saigon Gateway Tours: Electric Scooter City Tour – Vietnam Aviation Academy
  • Consolation Prize: Team FAS: Fashion & Scraps – Hoa Binh University; Team FAGY: Solutions for glass waste collection and treatment – Hue University of Economics

App-usage Board:

  • First Prize: Team SNAPBACK: Points accumulation and cashback application, bringing economic benefits to consumers – Hung Vuong University, Ho Chi Minh City
  • Second Prize: Team NOVA: Application providing elderly care services in Vietnam, bringing convenient solutions for elderly health care – Academy of Posts and Telecommunications Technology
  • Third Prize: Team ODAY: “Online market” platform, connecting and promoting local specialties – Hanoi National Academy of Public Administration
  • Consolation Prize: Team AuroraEdu: Design and application to support parents in developing social skills for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) aged 4-5 – Hanoi Metropolitan University; Oh MindGuard Team: Development of a mental health care application integrated with AI virtual assistant, supporting the improvement of mental quality of life – Vietnam Women’s Academy.

In addition, the Organizing Committee also awarded the Most Favorite Prize to the StarEdu team: Building a learning material system to support the education of escape skills for primary school students – Hanoi Metropolitan University.

The contest Genesis – Creative Startup Ideas for Female Students 2024 has ended in the joy and excitement of the participating teams and the Organizing Committee. Hopefully, from this result, with the support of teachers, businesses, and sponsors, the startup ideas will be realized more strongly and contribute to affirming the value of the contest.