On May 17, 2025, in Ho Chi Minh City, the final round of the 2nd “Smart City Microchip Design” competition in 2024 concluded with many memorable highlights, including the outstanding performance of students from Vietnam – Korea University of Information and Communication Technology (VKU), the University of Danang. Making their debut in this high-tech competition, VKU students brought home 2 out of 3 Promising Awards from the Da Nang region, helping to affirm the university’s pioneering role and strong potential in microchip design training and research.

The Da Nang student delegation, participating in the final round in Ho Chi Minh City

Among more than 40 teams from universities and colleges across the country, the two VKU teams-VKU-ASCON and VKU-ICC-excelled by reaching the Top 5 in the Da Nang region and both winning Promising Awards in the final round. Each team presented a distinct approach, reflecting creative thinking, a serious research spirit, and the ability to apply technology to solve practical challenges of smart cities.

• VKU-ASCON: Focusing on the issue of high-speed data security, the team successfully developed the ASCON-NIST encryption/decryption microchip, an algorithm standardized by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This solution helps protect image and video data in smart surveillance and traffic systems, contributing to building a safe and modern urban environment. Team leader Ly Huu Loc (21CE1), along with members Ho Minh Phi (21IR), Luu Quang Vu (21CE2), Le Trong Quyen (21CE2), and Dang Anh Cuong (21CE1), demonstrated strong teamwork and integrated technological thinking.

• VKU-ICC: Rather than taking a traditional approach, the VKU-ICC team focused on vehicle safety by designing a microchip that detects internal cyberattacks on car networks (CANBUS). This is a pioneering research direction as network security and vehicle safety are increasingly global concerns. Team leader Nguyen Thien Nhat (22IC), together with students specializing in Microchip Design and Embedded Systems – Vo Hoang Khoi Nguyen (22IC), Do Tran Chi Thang (23IC), Trinh Dam Minh Quan (23IC), and Ngo Minh Duc (23ES) – showcased a solid professional foundation despite still being students.

Two VKU teams were awarded Promising Awards

This achievement is not only a personal success for the students but also a clear testament to VKU’s strategic direction in developing high-quality human resources in microchip design – a core technology field in the semiconductor industry.

In just over a year, VKU has taken the lead in synchronously implementing microchip engineering training programs, establishing extensive cooperation with major technology companies and organizations such as Synopsys, and investing in modern research and training centers like VKU-SSTH. These efforts are gradually laying a solid foundation for Da Nang and the Central region to become a new bright spot on Vietnam’s high-tech talent map.

The 2024 Smart City Microchip Design Competition, led by the Management Board of Ho Chi Minh City High-Tech Park in collaboration with numerous prestigious scientific, technological, and educational agencies, is a major platform that helps students apply knowledge, develop research skills, and create products, while also connecting them to the innovation ecosystem in the microchip field.

The two VKU teams, VKU-ASCON and VKU-ICC, confidently entered the national-level microchip competition with creativity and openness. Their initial successes not only set momentum for VKU’s young research groups to reach further but also inspire the next generation of students, future technology engineers with a strong aspiration to master Vietnam’s semiconductor industry.

With these achievements, VKU is gradually affirming its position as a pioneering training institution in microchip design, not only in the Central region but also nationwide, making a practical contribution to the national strategy for semiconductor industry development and digital transformation.

Center for Learning Resource and Communication

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