Aus4Innovation launched an innovation club to support horticulture in the north of Vietnam, creating a platform to bring together SMEs, researchers and others to address unprecedented challenges like climate change and COVID-19.
This additional funding has increased the total investment in Aus4Innovation to AUD 13.45 million, helping the program scale up successful program activities enabling initiatives to adapt the Program to the context of economic recovery from Covid-19 and positioning Aus4Innovation for the second phase that will extend the collaboration to 2025.
Speaking at a bilateral meeting with Vietnamese Minister for Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Robyn Mudie, said that she was delighted that the Innovation Partnership between Australia and Vietnam, through the Aus4Innovation Program, has delivered tangible, significant results that are having substantial positive impacts on the lives of Vietnamese people over the past four years.
“Our collaborative achievements with most and partners from both countries are being realised thanks to an embrace of emerging technology and scientific knowledge,” she said. “Our decision to increase support for Innovation by AUD 3.5 million reaffirms Australia’s commitment to our strategic partnership with Vietnam, in which Knowledge and Innovation is one of the three priorities.”
Aus4Innovation – which is delivered collaboratively by the Ministry of Science and Technology and Australia’s national science agency, is building partnerships between Australian and Vietnamese universities, research agencies, high-tech businesses, and policymakers to help strengthen Vietnam’s innovation ecosystem to deliver sustainable socio-economic development.
Over the first 2.5 years, Aus4Innovation has explored emerging areas of technology and digital transformation, trialled new models for partnerships between public and private sector institutions, and strengthened Vietnamese capability in digital foresight, scenario planning, science commercialisation, and innovation policy.
"We highly appreciate the support of the Australian Government through Aus4Innovation Program and are pleased to see what the Program has achieved and impacted to Vietnam’s innovation ecosystem. We will continue to work closely for a successful transition period and look forward to more widespread impacts in Phase 2,” the minister added.
