The ASEAN Foundation and SAP successfully organized the 9th ASEAN Data Science competition (ASEAN DSE) Regional Final Round in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Here, 22 candidates from high schools, colleges and universities across ASEAN member countries presented data-based proposals and innovative solutions to solve socio-economic problems in the region.
Using SAP Cloud Analytics tools, the contestants demonstrated their ability to exploit data and develop mobile applications to propose solutions to solve important socio-economic problems throughout the ASEAN region.
The DataMinions team from Laos has excellently won the ASEAN DSE 2025 Championship thanks to a creative solution called Namjai Smart Water Plant, capable of filtering and detecting toxic substances in the country, while warning households, non-governmental organizations and authorities to maintain clean water sources.
This water tank was created to solve the problem of clean water in ASEAN, especially the Democratic People's Republic of Laos, Cambodia and the Philippines. Next, the Mamamamoodeng team from Thailand and the MyKXLab team from Malaysia won the runner-up and third prize in the final round.
The KpoW team from Vietnam, consisting of two members, Hoang Quynh Huong and Bach Nhat Minh, is the remaining team participating in the competition. They introduced Seek Well, an AI-based solution for early detection of skin cancer in community workers, especially outdoor workers who are exposed to sunlight.
Most ASEAN countries have very high to extreme UV levels almost all year round. More than 80% of people are at risk of being exposed to UV rays that cause skin cancer, but only 27% of them seek professional medical help.
The limited health system has created a crisis, causing many people to face the consequences of survival. That is the reason Seek Well was born - to overcome these problems and eliminate situations of delay that can lead to death", Hoang Quynh Huong (Foreign Trade University) and Bach Nhat Minh (Hanoi University of Science and Technology), representatives of the KpoW Team, shared.
Since its launch in 2017, the ASEAN Data Science Exploration Contest (ASEAN DSE) has empowered more than 111,000 students aged 15 to 30, including disadvantaged youth, and supported more than 3,300 teachers, of which women account for 55% of the beneficiaries.
