Youth Tech Fellowship Program for Climate Action

Hanoi, Vietnam — Recognizing that young people are often the most creative, dynamic agents for change, a new CSR program, Tech4Climate Fellows, is empowering Vietnamese university students to build tech-based solutions to environmental challenges.

Launched by a consortium of tech companies, universities, and environmental NGOs, this fellowship selects 50 students annually from universities in Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City. Over six months, fellows receive mentorship, funding, and technical support to prototype solutions in areas like peatland restoration, air pollution monitoring, waste management, and energy efficiency.

During the program, participants attend workshops in design thinking, software/hardware prototyping, environmental science, and business modelling. Each team is required to engage with local communities to understand real-world problems before building their solution. For example, one team is developing low-cost sensors to monitor particulate matter in underprivileged urban neighbourhoods; another is creating an app to coordinate local recycling drives and waste-pickers.

So far, Tech4Climate has seen several prototypes reach pilot stage. In Da Nang, the air-sensor team deployed devices in three wards; early data has helped local authorities schedule street cleaning and traffic flow adjustments to reduce PM2.5 peaks. The waste-management app is piloted with two cooperatives, enabling better coordination, cost savings, and community engagement.

The fellowship program not only fosters innovation, but also strengthens ties between academia, private sector and civic society. After mentorship, fellows are guided on accessing seed grants, entering startup incubators, or partnering with municipalities to scale up their solutions.

Challenges include ensuring long-term sustainability of tech prototypes, securing investment beyond initial seed funding, and addressing digital divide issues (access to tools, internet, etc.). Organizers are working to create open-source blueprints and share lessons learned across provinces to scale impact.

Youth in Vietnam are stepping up. With tools, mentorship, and purpose, Tech4Climate Fellows shows how technology and idealism can combine to address climate change from the ground up.