The annual KOVA Awards were presented yesterday, November 22, to three groups, four individuals and five students, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to society in 2009.

The awards have been organised by the KOVA Paint Company since 2002. The awards aim to encourage students, individuals and groups, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to pursue advances in the areas of science and technology, and social welfare. Winners received a certificate and a cash prize.

In the area of applied sciences, the award went to staff in the science sector of the Van Hai Trading Ltd Company for their research project and production of 1,200 endoscopy facilities for hospitals and medical units nation-wide. A group that developed a system for cleaning out the noses of workers after their shifts at the Van Hai Company won for playing an important role in preventing work-related diseases among employees at iron and steel companies in Thai Nguyen Province.

Three individuals were awarded applied science prizes, including Ho Viet Hieu, director of the paediatrics faculty at Hue Medical and Pharmaceutical University for his research on medicine groups for children with kidney disorders; engineer Mai Xuan Tac from Tan Son Aquatic Breeding Farm in Nga Son District, Thanh Hoa Province, for his research on Bong bop fish development, which has high economic value in the area; and Le Minh Thoi, a farmer who successfully invented and produced more than 300 mud stirring machines over the past 10 years.

Awards for groups with outstanding contributions to society went to staff at the Quang Ninh Women' + char(39)+ N's Union for their establishment of a club for people infected with HIV that helps them overcome difficulties in their lives. A group of four people in Quang Binh Province who showed bravery and saved the lives of 36 people when a boat sank on January 25,2009, in Quang Hai Commune, Quang Trach District, Quang Binh Province, also won.

Individual winner of the outstanding contribution to society prize was war invalid and Agent Orange victim Tran Ngoc Phuong, chairman of the Huy Phuong Construction Group. He won for helping his comrades overcome difficulties in their lives.

The KOVA Award Committee also presented awards to five excellent students and granted scholarships to 33 talented low-income students studying at several universities nationwide.