Vietnam National University of Agriculture to discuss cooperation opportunities with Aus4Innovation, Australia

On March 18^th, 2019, the delegation of the Aus4Innovation Program Management Board and Australian specialists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) paid a visit to Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA) to discuss cooperation opportunities. Mr. Pham Duc Nghiem, Deputy Head of General Department of the National Agency for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Development, Ministry of Science and Technology and Mr. Bui Dang Minh, Commercialization specialist, Vietnam Climate Innovation Center (VCIC) joined the delegation. Welcoming the delegation, there were Prof. Dr. Pham Van Cuong - VNUA’s Vice President, together with the representative leaders of the International Cooperation Office, the Science and Technology Office, the Center for Agricultural Technology Incubation, the Faculty of Agronomy, and the Faculty of, Engineering and the representatives of the  Faculties of Food Science and Technology, Accounting and Business Management, and Economics and Rural Development as well as lecturers who had studied in Australia. 

At the meeting, the delegation got to know the method for technological transfer of VNUA as well as the strengths and weaknesses in commercializing scientific research results of the University. The representatives from VNUA also shared the existing partnership in the field of science and technology with some enterprises and expressed the hope to build collaboration contents between VNUA and Aus4Innovation in the coming time.

Starting in January 2019, Aus4Innovation is the cooperative development program between Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). The program’s mission is to strengthen Vietnam’s innovative ecosystem which will assist Vietnam in economic growth and in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One of the main components of the program is the Commercialization and Partnership in scientific and technological research with a focus on the brokerage model and development of partnerships between public and private research units for the commercialization of scientific research.   

At the discussion, Vice President Pham Van Cuong proposed the following core collaboration contents between VNUA and Aus4Innovation, including: (i) Provide training to human resources and organize seminars/conferences to raise the awareness about innovation and commercialization of research results for managers and researchers; (ii) Enhance the capacity of the Center for Agricultural Technology Incubation on modern technological processes, tools and equipment for market connection and technological commercialization to meet the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises; (iii) Provide supports for the commercialization of the research results of VNUA’s scientists: prioritizing technologies for incubation, demonstration and potential commercialization technologies in the fields of breeding technology for high valued plants and livestock, green house and net house production technology, sustainable agriculture, and the preservation and production process  of agricultural products to meet the market demands; (iv) Provide supports for policies in innovation and strategies for sustainable development of research; and (v) Collaborate with enterprises in joint research projects to enhance the number of international publications and the University’s ranking, etc.

The delegation of Aus4Innovation expressed their gratitude to the warmly welcome of VNUA and promised that the proposed collaboration contents by VNUA’s leaders would be considered to be included into the program’s implementation plan in the near future. At the end of the meeting, the delegation visited the flower planting zone at the Faculty of Agronomy, an outstanding example of agricultural production using new technology.