MIT $50K Vietnam Entrepreneurship Competition

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 only 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.