Dynapath

About Dang Dinh Dang Khoa

“As part of a young, dynamic institution, I am driven by a profound passion for leveraging technology to address global challenges, particularly in the realm of sustainability. Sustainability, to me, is more than just a buzzword—it’s a commitment to creating systems that ensure the well-being of our planet and future generations.”

His journey into sustainability was sparked by an intrinsic motivation to blend his technical skills with a vision for a greener future. This led to the inception of Dynapath, an innovative project that embodies this ethos by tackling two pressing issues simultaneously—plastic pollution and renewable energy. Him together with his team aims to revolutionize how waste is perceived and utilized, turning it into valuable resources while engaging communities in the energy generation process.

Dang is excited to share their journey and inspire others to think creatively about sustainability, blending technological innovation with environmental stewardship. He encourages everyone to step into a future where technology and sustainability go hand in hand.

About Nguyen Thao Van

Nguyen Thao Van, a 21-year-old majoring in Hospitality Management with a concentration in Revenue Management at VinUniversity, a dynamic young university in Vietnam. At 16, she moved to the USA for high school, where she was shocked by the vast amount of single-use plastics discarded daily in fast-food drive-thrus. This troubling exposure sparked a desire in her to rethink how plastic waste is handled.

Though her deep commitment to sustainability developed later, that early experience stayed with her. It drove her to join the Sustainable Hospitality Challenge to not only create sustainable solutions but also to push her limits and embrace new challenges.

At VinUniversity, she applies design thinking to tackle real-world problems, blending her passion for hospitality with practical sustainability. Together with teammates in Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, and Business Administration, they developed Dynapath—a project that converts plastic waste into kinetic tiles that generate electricity from foot traffic. The project addresses both the issue of plastic pollution and the need for alternative energy sources.

“Participating in this competition is an exciting opportunity for me to test and enhance Dynapath, connect with experts from various fields, and contribute to sustainable practices in the hospitality industry. I’m eager to see our ideas make a real impact.”

About Tran Dinh Le Hoang

Tran Dinh Le Hoang is a Business Administration student, environmental activist, and energy transition researcher. Since the age of 16, he decided to dedicate his life to tackling his country’s and the world’s most pressing sustainability problems. He believes there is no way to solve sustainability problems alone, but only through concerted efforts between multiple fields such as business, advocacy, and academia.

Realizing that joining the Sustainable Hospitality Challenge (SHC) would help him understand the intricacy of the hospitality industry through the lens of sustainability, he decided to take the chance and join. This has led him and his team to the final round of the competition, and he can’t wait to continue building their solution, showcasing it, and implementing it in the real world.

“SHC helps bringing ideas closer to reality through multiple rounds of validation and feedback while providing global connections and opportunities.”

Their project takes sustainability in the hospitality sector to a higher level by potentially solving two problems at once—plastic waste and renewable energy. While the initial inspiration of “piano tiles” was simple, they continuously link the idea back to the hospitality problems and developed it into kinetic tiles made from recycled plastic.

“A sweet spot was found between these two pressing problems of the hospitality industry, and I am eager to keep improving the concept to provide an answer to sustainability. This S-word is ultimately about asking “can we do this forever?”. I would say that we can’t just produce plastic waste forever and need better energy alternatives. Dynapath is our answer.”