Aus4Innovation Update: January 2023
Australia-Vietnam science collaboration has never been stronger, with innovation being one of the three key pillars of the Australia-Vietnam Strategic Partnership.
The Government of Vietnam recognises the pivotal role science, technology and innovation (STI) plays in equitable and sustainable development to ensure Vietnam becomes a high-income, country by 2045 and Australia has proven to be a trusted partner in supporting this goal.
Australia has been invited to share lessons learned and insights in fostering an innovation system with Vietnam on multiple occasions; most notably at the National Conference hosted by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in September 2022 to promote the role of technology transfer and science and technology markets.
The conference gathered leaders of ministries, provinces and cities, corporates, as well as research and knowledge institutes. Australia's Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski also took this opportunity to reaffirm Australia's ongoing commitment, particularly through the Aus4Innovation Program, to continue helping shape Vietnam's innovation agenda.
As we welcome 2023 and the year of the Cat, the Aus4Innovation team would like to extend our sincerest appreciation to all our partners who contributed to our mission of preparing for a digital economy in Vietnam. We wish you and your dear ones a year full of hope and laughter.
In 2023, we will have our biggest event yet, an innovation showcase in the second quarter where all the initiatives and technologies we have supported will be exhibited.
Stay tuned for further details!
Innovation Partnership Grants are an important component of the Aus4Innovation program, where funding is provided to scale already tested activities to address emerging challenges or opportunities in numerous sectors across Vietnam.
From 2019-2022, 12 projects were funded from hundreds of applications with a total funding of >5 million AUD, across sectors such as agriculture and food, healthcare and natural disaster and environmental management.
As the projects have brought changes to the most emerging sectors in Vietnam, Aus4Innovation hopes to have created a wave of grassroot innovations while facilitating a shared innovation community between Australia and Vietnam.
Read more about these projects at Innovation Partnership Grants.
Vietnam Artificial Intelligence Marketplace A Single Source of Truth on Tech.
A self-collecting and operating online platform, VNconnect enables Vietnamese AI experts and researchers to search, connect and create powerful partnerships with domestic and international research institutions, organisations and businesses looking to provide AI related services.
Led by CSIRO’s Data 61, Australia’s top digital research agency, the project aims to help AI researchers and experts in Vietnam make their products more commercially viable. This project is delivered in partnership with the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam and leading research institutes.
Explore the platform for yourself - VNconnect
The Plastics Innovation Hub Vietnam hosted a showcase event in Ho Chi Minh City with Australia's Consul General Sarah Hooper opening the event. The showcase enabled entrepreneurs with ideas to reduce plastic waste to share their visions with a network of businesses, researchers and activists.
It was a breeding ground for future partnerships and potential technologies and products to tackle the problem of plastic waste.
The Plastics Innovation Hub Vietnam is an initiative of Aus4Innovation and part of Australia's national science agency - #CSIRO's - Ending Plastic Waste Mission, aiming to solve one of the biggest environmental challenges of our time. Founded in June 2022, the Vietnam Hub is a vehicle for collaboration among Aus4Innovation, Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the National Plastic Action Partnership. It brings together local communities and governments, businesses and investors to undertake action-based projects to reduce the impact of plastic waste.
For more details, please visit Plastics Innovation Hub Vietnam
Australia belongs to a group of donors who are contributing to an enhanced innovation ecosystem in Vietnam. This group consists of other embassies and multilateral donors including the World Bank and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
After a long pause due to COVID-19, Australia took the initiative to reconvene the group in a workshop hosted by Aus4Innovation. During the workshop, CSIRO's Prof Andy Hall, presented a study that compiled global lessons for designing and implementing innovation support programs. The study is to address growing interest in the international community on understanding innovation support, and is expected to provide critical lessons that can help Vietnam and other donors navigate program design choices.
In November 2022, The Ministry of Science and Technology launched Science Commercialisation Training of Trainers (ToT) courses for over 100 researchers and scientists in leading universities and research institutes in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi
Based on the Commercialisation PLUS How-to Guide released by Aus4Innovation last year, the courses introduced theory, practical tools and interactive commercialisation case studies to help researchers shape their research ideas around actual industry and society needs and to enable better collaborations with businesses and investors.
These courses will soon be scaled to other regions of the country.
Learn more about commercialisation tools introduced by Aus4Innovation here: Commercialisation PLUS
