Achievements

 

 

The SURF 2023 startup & innovation competition is part of the 2023 Startup & Innovation Festival (SURF), organized annually by the Danang Department of Science & Technology. The competition gives startups an opportunity to present their products to potential investors, in depth, with real potential of later being commercialized in the marketplace. The preliminary round of the competition took place on September 7, with thirty teams. The ten best projects were selected for the finals on September 20, three of those originated from DTU, an educational institution, and the rest were from local businesses. DTU’s three finalists were:

 

- “Firewall,” by Acronics Solutions, a DTU startup company

- The “Production of 3D printing plastic filaments from used plastic bottles (Green3D Print)”, realized by the DTU STEM & Fab labs team

- “Manufacture of skills practice models for medical training,” by the staff and lecturers of the DTU College of Medicine & Pharmacy (CMP).

 

The Acronics Solutions “Firewall” project was high appreciated and won second prize with a network security device, a “100% made in Vietnam” brand with some major strengths, such as:

 

- Mastery of microchip design technology, system development and integration, and integration of core technology (bottom-up)

- No malicious code, no backdoors (due to hardware upgrades)

- Flexible updates and upgrades of fireware, no copyright renewal fees, such as those levied on analogous foreign devices

 

 

In the context of increasingly complex network security, the protection of network systems at organizations and businesses is vital. The “Firewall” project aims to find a solution to this complex issue and has created a breakthrough by using advanced technologies, like field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) and advanced RISC machine (ARM) processors, to ensure optimal performance and network security. In particular, the device integrates network routing, network address translation (NAT), and other advanced security features and provides a stable network connection, performing in-depth analyses of active network traffic, and ensuring the safety of network data flows and independent business applications.

 

Furthermore the system is designed to meet performance requirements and remain compatible with existing network infrastructures. Several customers have already ordered the Acronics Solutions “Firewall” and put it to use, giving very positive feedback about its effectiveness, security, and quality. Another DTU project received a consolation prize, for a project entitled “Production of 3D printing plastic filaments from used plastic bottles (Green3D Print)”, produced by DTU’s STEM & Fab labs team.

 

481.6 billion PET bottles are used each year, a million every minute, and decomposition takes up to 450 years. Only 15% to 25% of PET bottles are recycled, which has a strong impact on the environment. With their Green3D Print project, the DTU’s startup team focused on reducing waste from plastic bottles and recycling them into useful and environmentally friendly ones.

 

 

In particular, the startup group came up with the idea of reusing used plastic bottles to create plastic filaments for 3D printers that use FDM technology. The estimated cost of equipment, raw materials, labor, and energy is 42,200 VND per kilogram of the final product, and their solution is  seen to have several advantages, due to its low cost and high market competitiveness. The most impressive thing about the Green3D Print project is that it provides three business solutions in one:

 

- Provision of plastic filaments for 3D printing for STEM educational institutions and individuals

- Technology transfer of know-how and equipment for production of the plastic filaments for 3D printing

- Specialized printer combos and 3D printing filaments

 

The first prize in this year’s SURF competition went to the Wetex project, a “Global fashion supply-chain management platform,” created by TEX Technology Solutions, which focuses on digitizing factories in Vietnam and connecting them to international fashion brands, to give factories more orders and brands a more reliable production network.

 

In last year’s competition, a DTU project won the first prize entitled: “The Household-scale caterpillar fungus farming cabinet,” by Dr Nguyen Thanh Trung and his colleagues, researchers at the university’s Center for Molecular Biology (CMB). This specialized cabinet provides room for the small-scale farming of the precious medicinal caterpillar fungus, and fully meets the temperature, humidity, light, and ventilation requirements.

 

 

These creative startups satisfy urgent social needs and, at the same time, have high potential for commercialization. The teams of highly experienced researchers have demonstrated the work it takes to support entrepreneurial potential in higher education, contributing to the development of society and creating valuable technology products to the community.