On December 7, two Class of 2025 Human-Centered Engineering students—Nguyen Gia Minh and Nguyen Hoang An—and their capstone project, Hearty Plant, won second prize in the Green Industrial AI Challenge 2024.
The Green Industrial AI Challenge is a competition that seeks innovative artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for green, sustainable challenges. Organized by the Open Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship Institute (OITI) and VinUniversity’s Startup Center, the competition brings together major partners including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Microsoft, and Hanoi University of Technology, with support from SoiHub—Open Innovation Center, SaigonTel, and Quest Ventures. The challenge addresses three key areas: Green Agriculture, Smart Industry, and Green Lifestyle.
Hearty Plant advances green agriculture through smart indoor hydroponic growing systems. The technology automatically manages nutrition systems, sensors, lighting, and humidity. Using AI, the system analyzes environmental data to understand how control commands affect the growing environment and how different environmental factors interact. This enables the system to simulate and predict environmental impacts. Gia Minh and Hoang An have also implemented AI-driven decision-making to optimize resource usage and maintain ideal growing conditions.
While Gia Minh and Hoang An initially concentrated on technical development, their participation in this startup-focused competition pushed them to explore broader market applications. “Thanks to Fulbright’s interdisciplinary education, we were equipped early on with knowledge about product development processes such as market research, problem identification, and customer research from Dr. Le Quan’s Product Development class,” Gia Minh shares.
Photo of the Hearty Plant team at the semifinals.
Fulbright’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) provided crucial support during their competition preparation. “We received guidance on presentation skills, slide preparation, and editing content to be more cohesive.” Dr. Hop Minh, their academic advisor, played a vital role by encouraging their competition entry and offering consistent guidance throughout their research.
Hearty Plant’s roots trace back to 2020, when 11 students from diverse majors—including Computer Science, Art Studies and Media Studies, and Psychology—launched it as an engineering learning initiative. The project became a collaborative space where students could master electrical system design and hydroponic growing techniques. Originally a graduation project by alumnus Pham Hoang Lan, Gia Minh and Hoang An have enhanced it with new features. The project continues to thrive with ongoing technical and moral support from the Fulbright student community.
Through their dedication, these young innovators have created a product that serves both people and society, earning them their prestigious second-place finish in this year’s Green Industrial AI Challenge.
Gia Minh and Hoang An presented their project to Jeff Dean – Google’s Chief Scientist at the Building AI Future for Vietnam event hosted at Fulbright University Vietnam.
Once again, congratulations to Gia Minh, Hoang An, and the Hearty Plant project! May the Human-Centered Engineering community continue to nurture and develop Hearty Plant as it advances toward creating sustainable environmental solutions.
Hearty Plant’s team members and beloved advisors.
