45 projects were granted 2020 Vietnam Science and Technology Innovation Awards (VIFOTEC) at a ceremony held in Hanoi, on November 10.

The event was organised by the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL), and the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee.

Comrade Do Van Chien, the Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, attended and spoke at the ceremony. Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam attended and presented prizes to authors and groups of authors with winning works.

The awards aim to honour and encourage scientific and technological research and innovation and promote the application of scientific achievements and modern technologies in production as well as in products used in daily life.

At the ceremony, the organising board awarded prizes to 45 works, including: five first prizes, 11 second prizes, 13 third prizes, and 16 consolation prizes. The organising board also decided to reward 11 units and 12 individuals with outstanding achievements in the propagation and dissemination of the award.

The VGCL also honoured the 35 authors and co-authors of the works that won first, second and third prizes.

The Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union awarded the ‘Creative Youth’ badge to the two authors of the first prize winning work and certificates of merit to the 22 young authors of the second and third prize winners.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) also presented WIPO Awards for an excellent work in the field of materials: "Applying ultra-fine grinding technology in the production of high-quality Cotto tiles".

The Ministry of Science and Technology also made use of the occasion to officially launch the 2021 Vietnam Science and Technology Innovation Awards.