In 2021, ICM Falk Foundation co-funded a student-led, innovation competition at a leading engineering Ho Chi Minh City university to develop two projects for alternative compostable cassava-starched material development for plastics packaging replacement.

The two projects were provided support via local incubation programs (C-Plastics Incubator 2021) to bolster in-depth business and technical support. This collaborative approach between funders, universities, and ESOs highlights the benefits students receive from a holistic support system (ie: from idea, launch, startup, and beyond) with offerings ranging from mentorship to funding and networking opportunities that continue throughout their R&D journey.

Through the facilitation of such university-driven, diverse partnerships and associated flexible funding, students were able to begin at the discovery level and leverage external support organizations (incubation) to realize their full potential. 

Read our interview with Blastic here and Edifilm here!

Special congratulations to the Edifilm team who won the second prize in the Bach Khoa Innovation competition!