Young doctor convinced the Prime Minister to invest in a billion-dollar project

After listening to scientist Nguyen Ba Hai present his non-profit project to produce "magic eyes" for the blind, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung agreed to fully fund the project.

On the morning of September 11, at the Ministry of Science and Technology, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met with 70 outstanding young scientists under 35 years old. This is the first time the Ministry of Science and Technology has organized this activity.

Most of the meeting time was spent for young scientists to present their concerns, worries, and difficulties in the research process.

In particular, the presentation of Dr. Nguyen Ba Hai (Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education) lasted nearly 30 minutes because the Prime Minister asked many questions about the inventions and community projects that Dr. Hai is implementing. Most notably, the non-profit project to produce "magic eyes" for the blind.

"Magic Eye" looks like regular glasses but is actually a type of compact electronic glasses

This project is based on the invention of Dr. Nguyen Ba Hai. After 4 years of research with 9 versions of improvement, Dr. Hai has now successfully produced the 2nd generation "magic eye".

Reporting to the Prime Minister, Dr. Nguyen Ba Hai said: "The first product weighed nearly 2kg, costing about 20 million VND to produce. Now it weighs only 200g and costs about 2 million VND to produce."

On the surface, the product looks like regular glasses but is actually a type of compact electronic glasses. Within a certain pre-programmed distance, the glasses will identify obstacles left and right, up and down, stationary or moving. Then, the device will vibrate to notify the user to choose a safe direction.

Dr. Hai said that this product is currently being produced to give away for free to blind people in difficult circumstances. In addition, the product has been exported to the US.

To do this, Dr. Hai established a non-profit company. At the same time, the project also received sponsorship from more than 200 organizations and individuals to maintain its operations.

Dr. Hai said: "I will not change the company's regulation on not sharing profits. And fortunately, I still regularly receive funding to produce for the poor."

Dr. Nguyen Ba Hai presents about the "magic eye" device and non-profit project for the visually impaired.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has repeatedly asked questions about the "magic eye" device and the difficulties in establishing a non-profit enterprise to serve the blind. The Prime Minister asked: "How much money is needed to produce this device to give to the blind in Vietnam?"

Dr. Hai said that in Vietnam there are currently about 1.2 million visually impaired people, of which 300,000 are blind. The goal of the program is to give glasses to the blind. Production costs also depend on the scale of production, so specific calculations are needed.

Immediately, the Prime Minister assigned the Minister of Science and Technology, Secretary of the Central Youth Union to coordinate with Dr. Nguyen Ba Hai to develop a specific project to provide assistive devices for the blind made by Vietnamese people. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said the Government will fully support the project.

At the meeting, the Prime Minister also requested the authorities to review, complete and effectively implement policy mechanisms to make good use of young scientists. At the same time, it is necessary to combine training and investment policies with leading experts and scientists from young scientists.

According to Danviet.vn