Strengthening the connection among the startup innovation centers at universities and colleges will contribute to developing regulations and policies and mobilizing resources for the innovation and startup ecosystem.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Ngo Thi Minh speaks at the event. Photos: NIC

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Ngo Thi Minh delivered a speech at the Vietnam Network of Higher Education Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center Forum on March 25 in the central province of Thua Thien Hue Province.

Minh welcomed the initiative of the establishment of the Vietnam Network of Higher Education Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, which is under the sponsorship of the National Innovation Center (NIC) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

"The operation of the Network of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Centers at Universities and Colleges is expected to boost the development of scientific and technological research and application activities in Vietnam, making it the leader of the startup and innovation ecosystem," she said.

At the event, NIC Deputy Director Do Tien Thinh said that as the network's sponsor, NIC will strengthen network members' connections with other partners for the common goal of developing high-quality and innovative human resources to meet the demanding labor market requirements amid the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

NIC Deputy Director Do Tien Thinh shares his view at the forum.

Le Thi Thu Ha, director of the Innovation and Incubation Space at the Hanoi-based Foreign Trade University and president of the network, said the network now has 26 members after more than four months since its launch.

Since its establishment, the network has carried out impressive activities, she added. One of them was the launch of the network at TECHFEST events in Binh Duong and Nghe An provinces.

The Network President said it has also helped Tay Nguyen University to open a training course for 30 officials and teachers involved in supporting innovation and entrepreneurship activities at universities and colleges in the Central Highland and collaborated with the University of Languages and International Studies under Vietnam National University-Hanoi to organize an international conference on innovation in universities: Model of Practical Development and Stakeholder Cooperation.

In 2023, the Network plans to expand the scope and quality of its activities by organizing seminars on the development of entrepreneurship, and investment funds in universities, creating a database of international innovation and startup experts, and introducing and connecting cooperation between domestic and foreign universities.