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The Fifth GRIPS SDGs Award Winner Announced!
SDGs are high on the GRIPS agenda. The GRIPS SDGs Awards were launched in 2019 to promote innovative efforts by alumni towards solving the most pressing environmental, social and economic challenges of our time.
Many GRIPS alumni in Asia, Africa and Europe applied for the Fifth GRIPS SDGs Award and now we are excited to announce that the winners of the Fifth GRIPS SDGs Award contest are co-applicants Mr. Kento Ozaki and Mr. Tip Piseth. Mr. Ozaki, from Japan, graduated from the GRIPS Two-year Master's Program of Public Policy (MP2) in 2013. Mr. Tip, from Cambodia, graduated from the GRIPS Young Leaders Program in 2012. Their close collaboration as GRIPS alumni has instrumental in promoting this award project.
We want to send a big thank you to everyone who participated in our contest and helped make it a success! And special congratulations to Mr. Ozaki and Mr. Tip!
Mr. Ozaki and Mr. Tip will present their project at a special GRIPS Forum on October 27th, 2025.
Winner’s Profile
Mr. Kento Ozaki, Manager of the Urban Development Department at Nippon Koei Co., Ltd., is an experienced urban planning consultant specializing in international development. After graduating from the Two-year Master’s Program of Public Policy at GRIPS in 2013, where he served as President of the International Student Council, he joined Nippon Koei. Since then, he has been actively involved in a variety of urban development projects, primarily under Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) contracts, contributing to city planning and infrastructure improvement in developing countries. His project experience spans a wide range of countries where he has played a key role in advancing sustainable urban growth. More recently, he served as Deputy Team Leader for the "Project on Implementing Smart City Approaches to Address Urban Challenges in Siem Reap" (JICA), where he played a central role in both strategic planning and project execution.
Mr. Tip Piseth, Director Division of Planning and Investment Division of Siem Reap Provincial Administration and the deputy of Smart City Secretariat of Siem Reap Province Cambodia, is a key officer of Siem Reap Province, working to recreate Siem Reap City as a smart and sustainable city. A graduate of the GRIPS Young Leader Program in 2012, he has been involved in Smart City innovation in Siem Reap Province Cambodia since 2018, working closely with JICA on a Smart City project to resolve urban issues in Siem Reap City. He also worked with a JICA expert team to develop the Smart City Roadmap for Siem Reap City (2023-2035). In the future he will work with another JICA smart city project, Siem Reap City Phase 2, (2025-2028), to continue the work of resolving urban issues.
Winning Award Project
Siem Reap Smart City Project
Background
Siem Reap, home to the Angkor Archaeological Park and a key tourism hub in Cambodia, faces pressing urban challenges such as traffic congestion, waste management, and environmental degradation. In response, JICA launched “Project for Implementation of Smart City Approach to Solve Urban Issues in Siem Reap” (2022–2025), aimed at promoting sustainable urban development through the formulation of a Smart City Roadmap, institutional capacity building, and pilot implementation of smart technologies.
Role in the Winning Award Project
Mr. Tip, representing the Siem Reap Provincial Administration, serves as the official counterpart. He has led coordination with the JICA team, facilitated stakeholder engagement, and aligned project activities with local development policies. His role also involves mobilizing resources and fostering collaboration among public and private sectors.
Mr. Ozaki, the urban planning expert commissioned by JICA, together with other expert members, is providing technical leadership: designing the Smart City Roadmap, delivering pilot projects, and applying data-driven approaches to improve urban services.?
This close collaboration has ensured that the project is both context-sensitive and forward-looking—contributing to a more inclusive, resilient, and smart Siem Reap.
