Conclusion No. 79-KL/TW of the Politburo on continuing to implement Resolution No. 43-NQ/TW of the Politburo (12th tenure) on developing Da Nang by 2030, with a vision toward 2045 clearly states: promoting economic restructuring associated with growth model innovation, taking science and technology, innovation as the main driving force.
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| Business connection activities at the Da Nang Innovation Startup Festival (SURF) 2024 Photo: M.QUE – C.THANG |
Focus on developing science and technology
According to the Da Nang Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the S&T sector contributes to sustainable stability, participates in the development of all other sectors and fields, thereby contributing to the city’s overall socio-economic development.
Data from the Da Nang Institute for Socio-Economic Development shows that the contribution of total factor productivity (TFP) to the city’s GRDP growth in 2022 is about 25.7%.
TFP increase was attributed to the contribution of many factors such as science and technology, education quality, labour quality, economic structure improvement and administrative reform. In addition, according to data from the Da Nang Statistics Office, science and technology professional activities still maintain positive growth in the 2019 – 2023 period.
Over the past 10 years, 242 science and technology tasks have been implemented from the city’s science and technology career resources. In addition, every year, universities carry out hundreds of scientific research topics from different funding sources such as school funding or support funds, and cooperation programmes.
The implementation of topics and projects mobilises a large number of intellectuals from universities, colleges, research centres, research institutes, enterprises and departments, branches and sectors, contributing to building scientific and practical arguments for improving management capacity and developing the city’s socio-economy.
The dissemination of knowledge about intellectual property is maintained regularly by management and enforcement agencies in many diverse and rich forms. Through that, the awareness among individuals, businesses and the community of the protection and respect for intellectual property rights has made positive changes.
Da Nang is the leading locality in the North Central and Central Coast regions in establishing and protecting industrial property rights with the highest number of applications and industrial property certificates, accounting for about 40% of the whole region. Activities to support startups and innovation, and form a startup ecosystem have been also focused on.
Over the past 10 years, Da Nang has implemented many startup support activities, especially expanding the legal corridor, seeking investment resources, and supporting startups and individuals.
Innovative startup projects and businesses have applied scientific and technological achievements and artificial intelligence (AI) in their operations, thereby attracting investors, solving employment needs and contributing a lot to society.
Thanks to these strengths, the city has been honoured four times as ‘Attractive City for Innovative Startups’ in 2020 and 2022 – 2024 by the Viet Nam Association of Software and Information Technology Services (VINASA); for 3 consecutive years (2022 – 2024), it has been a typical locality proactively implementing the 4th industrial revolution and digital transformation at the award ceremony ‘TOP Industry 4.0 Viet Nam – I4.0 Awards’.
Promoting innovative startups
According to the 2023 PII Provincial Innovation Index ranking announced by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Da Nang ranked 4th. According to the report, Da Nang has strengths in digital infrastructure and e-governance, a high rate of trained workers aged 15 and over. In the coming time, the city will set tasks: promoting the restructuring of the city’s economy in conjunction with growth model innovation, taking science and technology, innovation as the main driving force.
Dr. Dang My Chau, the Executive Director of the AI Smartup startup support programme, an expert and strategic advisor in the field of innovative startups, commented that Da Nang needs to focus on specialised fields with advantages to build a solid development vision.
With the global trend of building green, clean, and smart industries, the city should prioritise strategic areas such as renewable energy and focus on solutions for smart cities; especially specific areas in software development.
At the same time, the city needs to expand the market for cooperation with neighbouring provinces, share resources and create more attractive investment destinations through cooperation.
Also, it is high time for the city to attract experienced entrepreneurs to the startup ecosystem. For the development of high-quality human resources, it is necessary to further increase the STEM interdisciplinary coordination and vocational training programmes.
In addition to attracting high-quality human resources through salaries, the city needs to continue investing in infrastructure, supporting space and premises for startups with reasonable rental prices; encouraging the formation of co-working spaces and networks connecting startups with investors and experts in the industry; promoting the development of innovation centres in the city.
In addition, the city is reforming administrative procedures to help startups easily access necessary legal services, protect the legitimate rights of businesses; encourage cooperation with international organisations and investment funds to attract more resources and transfer modern technology.
The Da Nang Department of Science and Technology is coordinating with relevant units to develop the project ‘Da Nang – the City of Innovation’, aiming to promote the role of Da Nang as a startup centre in the Central Viet Nam- Central Highlands regions.
The municipal Department will direct the Centre for Supporting Innovative Startups to discuss with the city’s Innovation Startup Network Coordination Council to supplement many contents to complete the project, including considering the inclusion of the ‘Net-Zero’ element in the project and soon complete it for later submission to the Da Nang People’s Committee.
The project ‘Da Nang – the City of Innovation” ensures that it accurately reflects reality, and is consistent with the aspirations and strengths of Da Nang. Early implementation and development of the project will help open up opportunities for cooperation and comprehensive connection, towards sustainable development and international reach.
Reporting by MAI QUE, CHIEN THANG – Translating by A.THU
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