AstraZeneca Vietnam honours young talents at iDEA 2025 competition

The results, announced on September 29, drew more than 300 students from top universities nationwide, including both medical and nonmedical disciplines. The strong turnout highlights the growing interest among Vietnam's younger generation in applying innovation to healthcare challenges.

The iDEA Project – short for Innovation, Development, and Empowerment in Asia – is already running in India, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It encourages students to generate fresh solutions that can improve awareness, diagnosis, and treatment of rare and overlooked diseases.

Photo: AZ

The initiative aims to create equal opportunities for learning and development for students preparing to enter Vietnam's pharmaceutical and public healthcare sectors.

This year's challenge centres on rare diseases, a specialized medical area marked by difficulties in diagnosis, limited treatment options, and low public awareness. Student teams were tasked with creating comprehensive strategies across three pillars: strengthening patient support networks, advancing scientific and systemic interventions, and driving broad-based advocacy and outreach.

After three months of competition and more than 300 submissions, six finalist teams presented their ideas at the national finals hosted by AstraZeneca Vietnam in late August. The winning teams – HPLC, Senium, and Raredi – stood out for their innovative approaches and rigorous research. Team HPLC, including four students from Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy and Hanoi Medical University, claimed the national championship.

The winning teams will receive internship opportunities at AstraZeneca Vietnam and be mentored by senior leaders.

The winning team, HPLC, shared that they were initially overwhelmed, as this was an entirely novel subject. However, as they delved deeper into their analysis, they recognised something extremely important: despite being rare diseases, the need to raise community awareness becomes even more critical to ensure patients receive greater attention and access to advanced treatment methods.

"The challenge became increasingly difficult as creativity had to be brought to the forefront. Countless ideas were developed and discarded because they seemed to follow familiar patterns. Connecting awareness-raising strategies with creative and impactful execution felt like a daunting puzzle, but in the end, we brought our brainchild, 'Gifted Doll', to life. From the moment the idea was born to the time we presented it before AstraZeneca's judging panel, we were filled with excitement and anticipation. We are truly happy to have been able to voice such fresh ideas into which we poured all our passion,” a representative of Team HPLC said.

Commenting on the competition and the students, Atul Tandon, Country president of AstraZeneca Vietnam, shared, “We are truly impressed by the creativity and eagerness to learn demonstrated by the students, especially their strong interest in the field of rare diseases - an area that requires much greater attention from both the community and the government.”

"Through the iDEA project, we believe these students are the ones writing the next chapter of change - by transforming knowledge into innovative solutions to raise public awareness. iDEA is not only a competition but also a vivid testament to AstraZeneca's commitment: empowers the young generation to tackle healthcare challenges, connecting science with people, and contributing to the sustainability of Vietnam's healthcare system," he added.

The project attracted more than 300 student registrations, with over 90 per cent coming from medical universities across Vietnam. This demonstrates not only the strong appeal of the program but also the growing interest of young people in the healthcare sector. The program's success confirms AstraZeneca Vietnam's role as a pioneer in nurturing young talent while investing in building a sustainable healthcare ecosystem.

This commitment is further emphasised by the company's recognition as one of the Best Places to Work in Asia (HR Asia Award 2025), a testament to AstraZeneca's efforts in fostering an inclusive workplace that values ​​diversity, creates growth opportunities, and encourages innovation, where every individual is empowered to fulfill the mission of “Unlocking the potential of science, transforming healthcare practices” for the benefit of the community.

AstraZeneca Vietnam believes that the hands-on experiences and networks gained through the iDEA 2025 project will serve as a solid springboard for students' future careers. The company remains committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace, accompanying every individual to unlock their full potential while co-creating sustainable value for the community.

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