Two Students from FoE and FoA Win the Honda YES Award for 2025
On November 12, 2025, the Lao-Japan Human Resource Development Institute (LJI) of the National University of Laos (NUOL) held the award ceremony for the HONDA Young Engineering and Scientist Award in Lao PDR 2025 (Honda YES Award). The event was attended by Prof. Takeo Arimoto, Executive Director of the Honda Foundation of Japan, Prof. Dr. Dexanoulath Sendouangdeth, President of NUOL, along with the Director of LJI, invited guests, the Honda Award Committee, staff, lecturers, and students.
During the ceremony, Dr. Phonekeo Chanthamaly, Director of LJI, summarized the selection process for this year, stating that the Honda Young Engineering and Scientist Award in Lao PDR 2025 is the 18th year the competition has been held in the Lao PDR.
The selection process began with an orientation for students in their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years from four faculties: the Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Water Resources, the Faculty of Natural Sciences, and the Faculty of Architecture.
• There were a total of 123 applicants.
• This was followed by the 1st written selection exam on a specific topic in the Lao language, with 40 students (19 female) passing the form screening to take the exam in early July.
• The 2nd written exam was in English, with 19 students (13 female) passing the selection in late July.
• The final stage was the interview round, with a total of 10 students (8 female) entering this round, consisting of 2 students from the Faculty of Engineering, 4 students from the Faculty of Natural Sciences (2 female), and 4 students from the Faculty of Architecture.
The aim was to select the two students with the highest scores to receive the award.
The competition results showed that Ms. Phonsavanh Sounakhen, a student from the Department of Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, and Ms. Souna Thorjongliachy, a student from the Department of Product and Interior Design, Faculty of Architecture, received the Honda Young Engineering and Scientist Award in Lao PDR 2025. They will each receive a medal, a certificate, and a scholarship of 3,000 USD. The remaining 8 students received consolation prizes.
The awards were presented by Prof. Takeo Arimoto and Prof. Dr. Dexanoulath Sendouangdeth.
