RULES

GENERAL RULES

1. There is no fee for entry.
2. Applications close Thursday, October 29, 2026, at 23:59 ICT (UTC+7).
3. Submissions may be entered by individuals or teams.
4. The minimum team size is one (1) individual. There is no maximum team size.
5. Each team may enter one idea.
6. Each team must have a team lead who is a currently enrolled Master’s, PhD, or Postdoctoral student at an accredited Vietnamese university; if submitting as an individual, the individual must be a currently enrolled Master’s, PhD, or post-doc student.
7. Currently enrolled Master’s, PhD, and Postdoctoral students include all full-time and part-time students in good standing at an accredited Vietnamese university. Faculty and staff are not eligible to serve as team lead.
8. All team members other than the team lead must be affiliated with the same institution as the team lead. Faculty, staff, and researchers from that institution may participate as team members.
9. Undergraduate students are not eligible to participate, whether as team lead or team member.
10. International students currently enrolled in a qualifying Master’s, PhD, or Postdoctoral program at a Vietnamese university are eligible to apply, provided they meet all other eligibility requirements.
11. No individual may appear on more than one submitted application, in any role. A person who is the team lead on one application, or a member of one team, may not also lead or join a second team.
12. Entries must be the original work of entrants.
13. The competition is intended for ideas that have not yet been released or commercialized in the market. Prototype development and pilot testing do not affect eligibility, provided the solution has not been commercially launched.
14. Teams must not have accepted any funding of any kind — equity or non-equity, including grants, prizes, donations, loans, or investment — for the idea being submitted. Self-funded (“bootstrapped”) development using the team’s own personal resources does not constitute external funding and is permitted.
15. Teams are required to disclose any funding received after the first round submission deadline. The Judging Panel and Organizing Committee reserves the right to disqualify a submission based on this information.
16. Once submitted, an application cannot be modified or resubmitted. Applicants are encouraged to carefully review all information before completing their submission.
17. Questions of eligibility that fall into a gray area are decided by the Organizing Committee. Eligibility appeals may be considered case by case through offline correspondence; the evidence summary, outcome, and reason are recorded.
18. The Organizing Committee is the eligibility decision-maker. Judges may report suspected violations but cannot disqualify an application.

COMPETITION FORMAT

1. The Application Round evaluates only the materials finalized in the online submission: the structured application, uploaded written pitch, and pitch-video link.
2. The competition consists of two phases: (1) a digital submission round, and (2) an in-person final round.
3. Digital submissions may be made in either Vietnamese or English.
4. Submissions will not be translated by the Organizing Committee nor the Judging Panel to avoid miscommunication or loss of meaning in translation.
5. Finalist teams must be prepared to present in English during the final round.
6. Applications will be evaluated based on four criteria: Technology-Driven Innovation, For-Profit Viability, Meaningful Social Impact, and Execution Readiness.
7. Five finalist teams will be selected and announced in December 2026.
8. Finalists are required to attend and present in person during the final round.

ELIGIBILITY DETAILS

1. Teams are encouraged to seek the involvement of advisors, mentors, alumni, and others from outside the team. All team members, however, must be full-fledged members of the team and must independently satisfy the institutional-affiliation requirements set out above.
2. By submitting an application, you represent and warrant to MIT $50K Vietnam that you have all right, title, and/or interest in the idea submitted and that the information it contains is accurate and complete, and that by submitting the application you are not and will not be violating any contract or third-party rights, including any patent, copyright, trade secret, proprietary or confidential information, trademark, publicity, or privacy right.
3. Applicants retain ownership of their intellectual property. Application materials will be used solely for competition evaluation purposes and will be shared only with the organizing team and judges. Applicants should avoid including highly sensitive proprietary information in their submissions.
4. The Judging Panel reserves the right to disqualify any entry that, in its judgment, violates the letter or the spirit of the competition’s guidelines, processes, and rules. The decisions of the Judging Panel are final and binding.

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE & CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

1. Judges will not evaluate entries submitted by their own institution.
2. Beyond institutional affiliation, conflicts of interest - including but not limited to advisory supervisory, family, research, business, investment, or financial relationships - are disclosed by judges. Each judge also confirms before every assigned evaluation that no actual or potential conflict exists; a conflict will result in reassignment.

PRIZE PAYMENTS

1. Teams will determine how any prize money is allocated among eligible recipients.
2. Faculty and staff may participate on a team but are not eligible to receive prize money.
3. The individual recipients of prize money are responsible for the tax implications of their winnings.
4. Teams may forfeit their individual shares of prize money in favor of granting the full amount to a registered business entity if, and only if, all members of the team have agreed in writing to forfeit their individual portions of the prize money in favor of granting the full amount to the registered business entity. We strongly recommend that teams seek legal consultation prior to signing such an agreement.

Frequently Asked Questions