Academics across the UTS Faculty of Engineering and IT have secured a grant from the Australia-Vietnam Enhanced Economic Engagement (AVEG) Pilot Program, a DFAT scheme to enhance trade and investment between Australia and Vietnam.
During the two-year project, UTS and partners in Vietnam (e.g., Vietnam MoST office in Sydney, Saigon-Innovation-Hub, VNU Ho Chi Minh University of Technology) aim to connect Australia’s small/medium enterprises (SMEs) with opportunities in Vietnam’s innovative ecosystem in emerging areas including industry 4.0, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), environment engineering, and big data. The project will promote bilateral trade and allow industry partners to strengthen relationships that will support collaboration beyond the project’s lifespan.
To achieve this, UTS will create a forum and technology transfer engine for Australia’s SMEs and existing partners in Vietnam. The forum with an information gateway of business partners and areas of demand will connect SMEs between both countries using our valuable engagement with the innovation ecosystem in Vietnam, UTS Rapido Vietnam. UTS Rapido can help make innovative technologies in emerging areas—like IoT, industry 4.0, and big data—more affordable and accessible to industry, especially SMEs. It has already been successfully used in environmental engineering projects in Vietnam—including the application of Industry 4.0 to sustainable water systems.
A hybrid working model will be in place with the expectation that COVID-19 restrictions will persist in 2022 and 2023. Project team members in Vietnam will help coordinate and execute on-site tasks with the support from the team in Sydney via virtual platforms and workshops. The UTS project team includes Dr. Diep Nguyen, Professor Eryk Dutkiewicz, Dr. Hoang Thai Dinh and Prof. Long Nghiem.