27 July 2018, Thailand
Institutes like the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) are a wellspring of knowledge that produce some of the best minds who can become the next global leaders. With this mindset, the Innovative Market Place, an idea competition was introduced by AIT to serve as a platform that will not only challenge them to come up with best solutions that can create an impact in the society but to sell their ideas in front of panel of experts.
The launching of Innovative Market Place was supported by Dr. Bindu Lohani, Member of AIT Board of Trustees and Former Vice President of the Asian Development Bank and was held on 25 July 2018 at the AIT Conference Center Auditorium. This competition is also part of the AIT-Tiger Leong International Innovation and Leadership Camp, a 10-day interactive program designed to nurture and train young bright minds to be innovative changemakers and front-runners in an interactive, multi-cultural environment.
Seventeen teams pitched their ideas before seven judges including Dr. Bindu Lohani; Dr. Yuosre Badir, Associate Professor in AIT; Dr. Tunyawat Somjaitaweeporn, Director, PIM Robotics and Automation Center (iCRAS); Mr. Robert J. Dobias, Advisor, National Research Council of Thailand; Mr. Sanya Chindaprasert, Head, SCG Chemicals Digital Business; Ms. Matsorn (Chu) Kitbumrung, Sr. Client Partner, NetSol Technologies; and Mr. Bjorn Harvold, Co-founder, Traveliko.
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In the end, three teams edged out all the rest because they not only gave the most convincing pitch, but their innovative ideas were exactly under the competition’s main theme which is waste management and reduction and these ideas can be easily converted into a product or business that would have an impact to society.
The first prize went to team Power Pads (converting your steps into energy) from AIT School of Management; two runners up were Left (over) Food to Good Life (converting food waste to animal food) from AIT-Tiger Leong Camp and Biomaterial from Human Waste (converting human waste to any eco-product) from AIT School of Management. The winner received 20,000 baht while the runners up got 10,000 baht each. The cash prizes were sponsored by Dr. Bindu Lohani, Mr. Robert Dobias, and AIT Solutions.
