AURORA 2025 Winners Announced — Inaugural Awards Celebrate Vietnamese Research Excellence
The Vietnam Australia Innovation Network (NIC AU) is proud to announce the winners of the inaugural AURORA Scientific Research Awards 2025, held in Vietnam following a rigorous multi-round evaluation process.
Award Winners
🥇 First Prize
Flexible multifunctional silicon carbide for biologically interactive cancer cell treatment Huynh Minh Anh (PhD candidate)
🥈 Second Prize
Optimising the wheat rhizosphere in acid soils for improved drought tolerance and nutrient uptake Pham Thi Thanh Huyen (PhD candidate)
🥉 Third Prize
A comprehensive model for microplastic remediation in the Mekong River basin — from survey to technology testing Luu Thi Trang (PhD candidate)
⭐ Merit Awards
- Recycling durian husks for wastewater treatment — sustainable agriculture meets environmental technology — Ninh Duc Bao (Master’s)
- Developing a fire ignition prediction model to mitigate bushfires under climate change — Nguyen Ha Ninh (PhD candidate)
About the Process
AURORA 2025 attracted researchers across strategic fields including sustainable agriculture, semiconductors, biomedical science, big data and green transition. The evaluation process comprised multiple rounds — submission review, academic peer review and a live grand final presentation before the scientific council in Vietnam.
Several winning projects have already been connected with enterprises, research institutes and investment funds for potential commercialisation and technology transfer.
What’s Next
Building on AURORA 2025’s success, NIC AU is preparing AURORA 2026 with an expanded international scope. Learn more about AURORA 2026.