Program 1: Research Project Grant

Home Student Research Grant Program Program 1: Research Project Grant

1. UROP Credit Requirement

All CECS undergraduate students currently enrolled in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) credit course are eligible to apply.
Priority will be given to students who have completed at least 01 UROP credit course (UROP1010/ 2010/ 3010/ 4010).
Awarded students who have not yet completed a UROP course must enroll in at least one UROP credit course (e.g., UROP1010) during the program duration.

2. Faculty Supervision

Each student’s research project must be supervised by one (01) main faculty supervisor (who must be a full-time VinUni faculty) and can optionally have a second supervisor (who could be external researcher).

3. Team Structure and Participation Limits

Students are encouraged to initiate research project topics to enhance the student-led nature of the program. Alternatively, topics may be proposed by the faculty supervisor, with the PI adapting and leading the project in collaboration with the team.
Each project team must consist of three (03) to five (05) students.
Each project is led by one student as Principal Investigator (PI), another student as co-PI to assist and other students contribute as research team members.
A student can participate in a maximum of two (02) projects but can serve as PI for only one project per academic year.
First-year students can join projects as team members but are not eligible to apply as PI or co-PI.
If a PI withdraws mid-project, they must notify CECS by email at least two weeks in advance and submit a handover plan designating the co-PI or another team member to assume leadership. Failure to do so may result in project termination.

4. Orientation Sessions

All awarded students must attend a mandatory orientation session on research methodologies and ethics, scheduled at the start of the program.
A short online course on research basics (Research Essentials) is also available to all students. To qualify, all awarded students must complete this online course and earn the certificate before the project starts.

This program supports team-based, long-term research projects requiring significant resources. Collaboration and comprehensive planning are encouraged.Projects run for nine (09) months, with an optional three (03)-month extension upon approval. No additional funding will be provided for extensions.

Exchange rate for AY24-25 Program: 1 USD = 25,500 VND

1. Financial Regulations

Students must comply with VinUni’s spending regulations. The Colleges will be fully responsible for supporting and ensuring that all expenses by students follow VinUni’s regulations and with proper documentation.

2. Grant Disbursement

Funding Allocation: USD 22,500 (VND 573,750,000) to support five (05) research projects.
Amount per Project: Up to USD 4,500 (VND 114,750,000) per project, covering all expenses, including equipment, software, publication fees, conference registration, and related costs.
Disbursement: Funds are managed by CECS and disbursed based on approved requests submitted by students (e.g., invoices or receipts). No direct payments will be made to students.
Unused Funds: If the research project concludes early (e.g., within 06 months), unused funds cannot be reallocated to other projects and will revert to the RMO budget.

Grant application opens: 11 March 2025
Grant application deadline: 7 April 2025
Grant notification deadline: 29 April 2025
Orientation session: May 2025
Project duration: May 2025 – January 2026
Progress report deadline: September 2025 (4,5 months from Grant notification)
Final report deadline: January 2026 (09 months from Grant notification)

1. Guideline on running the Student Research Grant Program

Step	Actions Required	Responsible Party
1	Prepare for Call for Proposals, including adopting given templates (budget and reporting templates) and developing activity plan template Release Call for Proposal	College
2	Develop the research proposal (including activity and budget plans). Project budgets must adhere to VinUni’s cost norms.	Student (with Supervisor)
3	Establish a Review Panel to evaluate and shortlist proposals. The reviewers must consider each of the criteria below: – Quality of the research question and its significance – Clarity of research objectives and methodology – Feasibility and potential impact of the proposed research – Whether the proposed budget is reasonable and complies with VinUni regulations.	College
4	Review the Student Research Grant program developed by the respective college (including the list of recommended projects for funding) and provide VinUni leadership with these plans for final review and approval	RAC, RMO
5	Once approved, each college will be assigned an Internal Order and will be responsible for running the Student Research Grant program at the college level, including allocating and managing/monitoring approved projects per approval and in accordance with the Grant Agreement. This also includes notifying the RMO of any changes to the approved budget and activity plans, changes of PI or changes in Faculty Supervisor at least two weeks in advance.	College
6	Coordinate with the RMO to organize the signing of Grant Agreements with students, following the provided template.	Colleges, RMO
7	Sign the Grant Agreement, along with the faculty supervisor, respective College, RMO, and VinUni and run the approved projects	Student, Supervisor, College, RMO, VinUni

2. Project duration and reporting

2.1. Project duration

Awarded students should complete their projects within nine (09) months after approval. Project extension for up to three (03) months may be allowed, with approval from the faculty supervisor and CECS by email, copying RMO.

2.2. Reporting

The number of reports depends on the length of the project:
- For projects that last no more than five months: Students should submit one (01) report using the final report template.
- For projects that last more than five months and up to nine months: Students should submit one (01) progress report at the mid-point mark of the project and one (01) final report.
The progress reports must be submitted by the deadline defined. The final report must be submitted within two (02) weeks of the project conclusion, detailing the outcomes of the research project, including any findings and conclusions. The report should also detail how the grant was used, including any expenditure made during the research project. More details regarding reporting can be found in the Grant Agreement which will be signed after the project’s approval.
Recipients of the grant shall be required to present their research findings at a conference or symposium approved by the respective College.

The Grant can only be used for the following purposes:

To pay honorarium to research participants;
To purchase equipment/service(s) needed for the conducting of the research project;
To cover travel expenses associated with the research project;
To pay for publication and dissemination costs of the research project;
To cover conference fees and registration costs related to the research project.

The Grant cannot be used for personal expenses such as rent, utilities, groceries, or any other personal expenses that are not directly related to the research project.

Parties involved	Rights and/or Responsibilities
Students	– Develop activity, budget plans and carry out scientific research in a professional and honest manner, following the guidance of the faculty supervisor(s); – Take responsibility for conducting the approved scientific research topics; – Comply with VinUni regulations and other current legal regulations; – Participate in scientific conferences, seminars, forums, and other scientific activities organized by their respective College; – Submit progress and final reports to the respective College per the required deadlines.
Supervisor	– Supervisors are responsible for guiding students to conduct scientific research; Jointly assuming responsibility with the supervised students the content of the assigned research topic; Fully complying with the principles of research ethics and current regulations; – Supervisors must ensure the students under their supervision maintain proper project documentation, including financial reports and project progress. They must review, comment and approve students’ reports before the reports are submitted to the respective College and the RMO; – Supervisors must make sure that the student’s workload and research efforts do not exceed 60 hours/month.
College	Take lead in developing and running the Student Research Grant program at the College level, including but not limited to releasing Call for Proposal, evaluating and shortlisting proposals, allocating and managing approved projects per approval and in accordance with the Grant Agreement, and organizing orientation sessions on research methodologies and research ethics for students.
RMO	– Coordinate with RAC to review and monitor the Student Research Grant program designed and run by the respective College; – Collaborate with Colleges to organize the signing of Grant Agreements with students; – Coordinate with Colleges on any changes to the approved budgets or activity plans.

No	Project name	Student PI	Faculty Supervisor
1	Soft Actuators for Adaptable Compression Devices in Deep Vein Thrombosis Treatment	To Dong Anh Khoa	Dr. Thai Mai Thanh
2	Auto-navigate Tiny Drone used in taking pictures for image processing and photogrammetry	Le Hai Trung	Prof. Laurent El Ghaoui
3	Low-Cost PCB-Based OECTs for Health Monitoring Applications	Duong Tuan Manh	Dr. Nguyen Dang Tung
4	Smart Aquaculture: A Multimodal AI and IoT Framework for Sustainable Development in Vietnam	Nguyen Hong Phuc	Dr. Nguyen Van Dinh
5	Low-Cost TENG Design Using Recyclable and Biodegradable Materials for Sustainable Urban Wind Energy Harvesting	Tran Minh An	Dr. Do Danh Cuong
6	Predictive Digital Twin Replica Placement through User Mobility Forecasting to Reduce Latency in Serverless Edge Computing	Le Ngoc Toan	Assoc. Prof. Kok-seng Wong
7	Towards Well-Aligned LLMs: Robust Lightweight Editing Methods at Scale	Le Thanh Quoc Hung	Dr. Doan Dang Khoa