In February 2025, Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Duc Minh and the EDABK research team from Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) triumphed in an international chip design competition hosted by Efabless and co-sponsored by Google, winning first place for their innovative neuromorphic chip. This AI-driven chip, based on Spiking Neural Networks (SNN), mimics human brain activity with remarkable efficiency, consuming only 1 mW of power and achieving 96% accuracy in handwriting recognition. The team’s success comes after overcoming funding challenges, relying on open-source tools to streamline design processes. Looking ahead, they plan to enhance the chip’s capabilities and explore practical applications. Concurrently, HUST’s School of Materials Science and Engineering, led by Assoc. Prof. Dao Xuan Viet, is advancing semiconductor research, notably developing specialized LEDs for agricultural and human-centric lighting, aimed at enhancing productivity and economic value in farming.