Two researchers at the awards ceremony.
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Their winning project, “Building a foundation for sustainable development networked societies for the cities of tomorrow”, focuses on designing an integrated heterogeneous wireless system (IHWS), which is robust in maintaining communications during disasters such as floods, landslides, and droughts.
It copes with issues such as physical destruction of telecommunications networks, lack of power supply, and network congestion. The system also provides early warning of natural disasters by detecting water level, vibration, and wind. In cities, the IWHS can detect increases in dust, temperature, noise, and carbon dioxide levels.
According to British Ambassador to Vietnam, Giles Lever, as a dynamic emerging economy with a strong vision of the importance of science and innovation in human development, Vietnam is a natural partner for the global Newton Fund. In addition, he expressed his belief that by working together and leveraging each other's strengths, we can achieve more than what we would achieve alone.
The Newton Prize is an annual GBP 1 million fund sponsored by the Newton Fund Programme. It is awarded for the best research or innovation that promotes economic development and social welfare in developing countries.
This year, have more than 150 Newton funded projects, fellowships or other awards applied for the Newton Prize from the eligible countries – India, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
There are 25 shortlisted applications and five Prizes of up to £200,000 will be awarded to each winner. There will be two winners in India and one in Malaysia, one in Thailand and one in Vietnam.
The Newton Prize aims to incentivise researchers to participate in the Newton Fund as partners with the UK, and to work on the most important challenges facing Newton countries. The concept for the Newton Prize has been developed to demonstrate how UK partnerships with Newton countries are solving global challenges.
