This year, the award, organised by online newswire dantri, Vietnam Television (VTV), and with the sponsorship of Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), found nine award winners in the field of information technology, two winners in the category of technology, and another two in healthcare.

“In the past years, one of the biggest contributors to the growth of Vietnam were the talents hailing from all age groups and localities of the country,” said Nguyen Thien Nhan, Politburo member and President of the Central Committee of Vietnam Fatherland Front, in his speech at the award ceremony. He added that the award has been doing a great job recognising and encouraging these talents.

Nhan said that according to government plans, by 2035, Vietnam should have 3.5 million companies, and expressed hope that the award will continue to accompany Vietnam in the journey to innovation.

Some of this year’s awardees are VReader that helps bring the joys of reading to blind people, the Piiship app connecting shippers and retailers, the HACHI app helping farmers compile schedules to care for their plants based on short and long-term weather conditions, and the My VinaPhone app that helps VinaPhone customers to manage their plans. One notable awardee was the administrative procedure portal iGate built by a group of employees at VNPT Tien Giang, which was highly regarded by the award committee due to its resounding social impact.

iGate is part of VNPT’s eGovernment package, which aims to improve administrative procedures in Vietnam. The product gives a coherent platform to receive, review, approve, and check the progress of administrative procedures. In addition, iGate helps looking up lists of procedures and estimate the time to receive the results.

After the initial testing by the People’s Committee of Cho Gao district in Tien Giang province, the product is now in use in various communes, districts, and provinces around the country.

“Customers said the product helped improve the quality of civil work,” said Luong Minh Liem Pha, head of the project. “We are going to bring it to mobile devices in order to make it even more convenient for civil servants and people, as well as add features, such as chat and push notifications.”

Starting out as a forum with an eye only to information technology products, the award has since been expanded to products protecting the environment and improving healthcare. According to To Manh Cuong, deputy general director of VNPT, Nhan Tai Dat Viet 2017 will call for the participation of talented Vietnamese from inside and outside of the country.