Students Engagement Program

About Students Engagement Program

SEAOHUN Students Engagement Program encourages students across its member Universities to practice applying One Health concept and approach in addressing One Health issues. SEAOHUN organizes regional students’ activities where students across disciplines and countries can interact and develop technical and soft skills, including infectious diseases, zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance, communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking, all of which are essential to solving complex health challenges. These activities include producing posters, videos, and arts to raise awareness of One Health in their communities.

Program Objective

The Student Engagement Program aims to foster the young professionals from multidisciplinary background to learn and apply the One Health concept to stimulate the good practices in the communities.

SEAOHUN 2024 Regional Student Competition: Inspiring the Next Generation

of One Health Champions

The SEAOHUN 2024 Regional Student Competition, a joint initiative with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and CHEVRON, successfully concluded, marking the fifth annual event that united students across Southeast Asia and Bangladesh. This year's theme, "Inspiring Action for Wildlife Conservation, Zoonotic Disease Prevention, and One Health," challenged participants to create 3-minute videos that addressed critical global issues and resonated on a global scale.

A total of 47 teams, comprising 235 students from Bangladesh and seven SEAOHUN member countries—Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam—participated. Each team, under the guidance of a faculty mentor, crafted a video that enhanced public awareness about wildlife conservation and biodiversity while underscoring the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health.

The competition began with a Student Competition webinar in June, where participants received insights from experts on technical knowledge, communication strategies, and competition guidelines. This foundational knowledge equipped the students to produce content that could make a significant impact.

“To create an impactful video, we conducted an in-depth study on the theme. It excites me to apply my veterinary skills to advance wildlife conservation, zoonotic disease prevention, and One Health initiatives. I am grateful to SEAOHUN for motivating me to pursue my dreams,” shared MD. SHAFIQUZZAMAN, from Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, team leader of Acyclovir—the winning team from Bangladesh.

The submissions were evaluated by a panel consisting of One Health professionals, science communicators, and members from the One Health University Networks (OHUNs) and the OHW-NG global team. The competition unveiled eight winning teams from the participating countries: (Link to watch all the videos)

Bangladesh: Acyclovir
Cambodia: Angkor Youth
Indonesia: VCGC
Laos: Ecosystem Health
Malaysia: Rafflesia
Philippines: Sinukuan Gazette
Thailand: Monkey Squad
Vietnam: Wilds Heart

Public Engagement and Recognition: The competition also featured a public voting phase, drawing thousands of interactions. The top three Public Pick Award Winners were:

Acyclovir (Bangladesh): 3.2K likes on YouTube
Ecosystem Health (Laos): 2.1K likes on YouTube
Rafflesia (Malaysia): 2K likes on YouTube

As a reward, each winning team from the eight participating countries will receive a Travel Award to attend the SEAOHUN 2024 Student Summit in Malaysia. This summit will provide them with an opportunity to deepen their understanding of One Health and network with peers and professionals from across the region. Reflecting on the competition, Mr. Muhammad Syazwan Afiq from the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, a member of the Rafflesia team, noted, "The competition was an excellent platform to showcase creativity. The judging was professional, and the feedback will be instrumental for future improvements. I appreciated the clear guidelines and the chance to be part of this meaningful initiative."

The SEAOHUN 2024 Regional Student Competition has not only showcased the creativity and passion of its participants but also fostered a movement empowering young leaders to advocate for a healthier, more sustainable world. Congratulations to all participants and winners for their exceptional contributions!

Our History of Successful
Regional Students Competitions

2023

SEAOHUN, in partnership with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), hosted its exciting fourth annual regional student competition focused on Biosafety and Biosecurity. Themed "Protecting Lives: Promoting Biosafety and Biosecurity," this competition invited students to design eye-catching infographic posters. A total of 39 teams, comprising 195 students from six SEAOHUN member countries—Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam—participated in the challenge. Each team, made up of four students and a faculty mentor, collaborated to create an informative and engaging poster.

The competition awarded top honors to the best three posters among the country-winning teams. The "Sinukuan Gazette" team from the Philippines took first place, followed by Cambodia's "Sunshines" in second place, and Thailand's "The Better World" in third. The 12 students from these winning teams earned a spot in a four-day "Biosafety and Biosecurity" training program in Malaysia, held from December 3-5, 2023. Additionally, the competition featured a 24-hour online voting session on social media, allowing the public to choose their favorite posters from the country winners. "The Better World"(right) from Thailand won the "Public Pick Award" with 1,765 votes, followed by Indonesia's "Ksatria Airlangga" with 979 votes, and Cambodia's "Sunshines" with 665 votes.

This year's competition showcased the creativity and commitment of students across Southeast Asia, highlighting the crucial role of biosafety and biosecurity in protecting lives.

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2022

SEAOHUN marked World Antimicrobial Awareness Week in November 2022 with its 3rd Annual Regional Student Competition, partnered with USAID One Health Workforce – Next Generation (OHW-NG) consortium, Zoetis, and Pfizer. Undergraduate teams from SEAOHUN nations crafted digital and non-digital art to creatively communicate the urgency of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) to the public. The event commenced on September 21, 2022, accompanied by a webinar titled "Communicating the Impact of AMR through Art" on September 26, 2022, where OHW-NG speakers shed light on AMR and blending science with art. Participation from Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam yielded 58 thought-provoking art pieces, reinforcing the idea that "a picture is worth a thousand words." SEAOHUN applauds partners USAID, Zoetis, and Pfizer for contributing to the success of the SEAOHUN 2022 Regional Student Competition. This initiative not only amplified AMR awareness but also nurtured cross-disciplinary skills among emerging professionals, empowering them to advocate One Health principles in their communities.

“Using Art is such amazing and fun idea to raise AMR awareness in creative way. The webinar also provided the knowledge and information of AMR and tips for drawing. I learned that messages conveyed in the form of art can educate the non-scientific community effectively and easily. Through this competition, I gained a lot of new experiences by working as a team, generating scientific ideas and converting into artwork.” – Rachana Dorn, Whale Team, Cambodia

2021

For the second year, “SEAOHUN 2021 Regional Students’ Competition: Risk of Zoonotic Diseases” was held with the aim to foster the young professionals from multidisciplinary background to learn and apply the One Health concept to stimulate the good practices in the communities. This competition was funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Chevron as a co-sponsor. This competition acted as an opportunity for the students of SEAOHUN member countries to utilize their creative skills (soft skill) and technical knowledge (hard skill) to communicate to the public about the risk of Zoonotic diseases. Over 200 students joined with 52 submissions received from seven SEAOHUN member countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam). The competition ended up with achieving one award per country and recognized six runners up, yielding so many interesting and well-made entries with a very successful public selection.

“I'm so very happy to join the SEAOHUN in the video competition, that was a new experience for me to create the video for raising awareness for people to understand the Risk of Zoonotic Disease… my team members [and I] learned a lot from making the video, especially about teamwork… we always motivate each other and keep working together during the pandemic. Finally, I thank you for creating this program that is an opportunity for youth to learn from each other and we contribute to helping our society or community.” -

A student who joined the SEAOHUN 2021 Regional Students’ Competition

2020

In 2020, there was poster and video competition of “Covid-19 Digital Awareness Challenge” aimed at engaging Southeast Asian students in educating their communities about COVID-19 and promoting risk-reducing behavior through digital platforms. The activity was supported by the USAID One Health Workforce Next Generation (OHW-NG) project. Over 200 students across six Southeast Asian countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam) submitted 110 posters, flyers, and videos to raise awareness of their communities on COVID-19. From there, 4 winners; 2 for videos and 2 for posters were identified who created the best original, creative and informative products.