Innovative-me is Viettel’s internal award, held annually to foster creativity and identify breakthrough technologies. Any of the 70,000 employees from 38 departments and 10 international markets can participate, win awards, and transform their ideas into reality.

The projects presented at Innovative-me 2024 are groundbreaking technologies with significant social impact in areas such as digital technology, information security, defense industry, and sustainable development.

After preliminary rounds at the grassroots level, the Innovative-me finals saw 2.5 times more entries than the previous year. In addition to the evaluation by the judging panel, the competition also received over 300,000 votes from Viettel’s employees.

This year’s top award, Best of Innovative-me 2024, was given to a team from Lumitel, Viettel’s brand in Burundi, for their digital platform connecting refugees at Kavumu Camp—the largest refugee camp in Burundi—with local authorities, international organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), businesses, and the people of Burundi.

In addition to the top prize, Innovative-me 2024 includes three categories: Excellence Awards for business and production ideas; Sustainability Awards for sustainable development projects; and Amazing Awards for technologies not yet available in Vietnam. The ideas focused on leveraging the latest applications of AI, spatial computing platforms, automation, and alternative fuels, among others.

Innovative-me is one of Viettel’s key activities promoting innovation, alongside Viettel’s Innovation Day (held on June 1st each year), daily initiatives that have been implemented for the past 25 years, and the initiative management software that has been in place for 15 years.

“Many people think that creativity must involve producing something grand, something that everyone at Viettel knows and admires, something that impacts tens of thousands of people. In reality, innovation at Viettel is as simple as finding a new way to work or making our tasks more efficient and excellent each day. Viettel places the responsibility of creativity on all its members, ensuring this energy is boundless.” said Major General Tao Duc Thang, Chairman and General Director of Viettel, during the awards ceremony.

In 2023 and the first half of 2024, Viettel recorded 464 initiatives from its employees. Recently, Viettel won 10 Creative Youth awards in the military sector and led in the number of awards at the IT World Awards with its technology solutions.