Da Nang People’s Committee Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh and Director of the municipal Department of Information and Communications Nguyen Quang Thanh co-chaired a seminar on Saturday to collect experts’ opinions on the project of developing semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI) in the city.

The seminar in progress

Da Nang to have 5,000 IC engineers by 2030

Mr. Le Hoang Phuc, Director of the Danang Semiconductor and Artificial Intelligence Center for Research and Training (DSAC), informed about the draft project to develop semiconductor and microchips in the city with three parts of an overview of the project, the content and the implementation organization.

In the overview, the draft analyses the international context and development trends of the semiconductor, microchip and AI industries; current situation in Viet Nam and Da Nang; strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges in these industries of Viet Nam and Da Nang.

Based on a recent actual survey, there are currently 10 IC design enterprises in the city, including 7 branches of foreign invested enterprises (FDI) namely Synopsys, Marvel, Uniquify, Savarti, Renesas, Synapse (now Quest Global), and Sannei Hytechs; plus 3 Vietnamese semiconductor and IC design enterprises of FPT Semiconductor, Viettel Hi-Tech and Acronic.

Dr. Nguyen Quan, former Minister of Science and Technology cum Chairman of the Viet Nam Automation Association, has many important proposals to help develop semiconductor and AI industries in Da Nang.

The city has about 550 IC design engineers, accounting for 7% of the total IC design workforce nationwide. The majority of students are trained from the Da Nang University of Science and Technology, the Duy Tan University and the Viet Nam - Korea University of Information and Communication Technology.

Currently, there are 3 concentrated Information Technology (IT) Parks in the city that have been recognized by the Prime Minister. They are the Da Nang Software Park; the Centralized IT Park and the FPT Office Complex. Besides, three IT projects of the Hoa Xuan Ward Creative Space, the Da Nang Bay IT Park and the Viettel Da Nang Building are implementing investment policies.

Da Nang targets to form a network of international-standard universities and training facilities in the fields of semiconductor and AI by 2030, contributing to training at least 10% of the city’s IT human resources.

There will be 20 design companies and design service providers, a packaging and testing business, and at least 5 startups operating in the field of semiconductor and AI.

The city will have 5,000 engineers, including 1,500 designers and 3,500 testing and packaging engineers.

The implementation organization will be developed after receiving comments and suggestions, as well as considering relevant factors.

Mr. Doan Quang Hoan, former Director of the Radio Frequency Department under the Ministry of Information and Communications cum Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Radio and Electronics Association, proposed phasing investment resources to solve the problem of human resources.

Focus on raising capital to ensure the efficiency of the project

Dr. Nguyen Quan, former Minister of Science and Technology cum Chairman of the Viet Nam Automation Association proposed that the project should demonstrate the city's will to develop semiconductor and AI industries, with a focus on training human resources, seeking markets and boosting investment cooperation.

He added that Da Nang needed to mobilize other investment sources, especially those from businesses, in addition to the State budget and specific mechanisms.

He also stressed the necessity for the city to handle some problems related to intellectual property, market information and valuation in order to successfully build a semiconductor ecosystem.

“All fields can only exist and develop when we have a market. Currently, the domestic semiconductor industry has many limitations, so it is necessary to reach out to the world market. In my opinion, Da Nang needs a scientific development fund to attract all resources, including business resources, especially FDI ones", Dr. Nguyen Quan emphasised.

Mr. Doan Quang Hoan, former Director of the Radio Frequency Department under the Ministry of Information and Communications cum Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Radio and Electronics Association suggested that the project should be implemented within 10 years, and the city should give active support to universities, especially investment in facilities, to achieve its goal of having 5,000 semiconductor workforce by 2030.

Priority should be given to developing infrastructure such as premises and power sources to create the best conditions for businesses. He cited that semiconductor factories in Taiwan consumed 7.4% of the national electricity supply.

Delivering the closing speech at the event, Standing Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Ho Ky Minh said that since October 2023, the city has achieved some initial results in semiconductor development.

Specifically, in terms of human resource training, the city has organized the first training class for source lecturers. Three universities citywide have opened 3 IC design training classes. Three universities have announced 170 admission targets for IC design engineers from August 2024. To date, 41 engineers and 59 lecturers have been studying IC design classes.

Standing Vice Chairman of the Da Nang People's Committee Ho Ky Minh delivering his conclusion speech at the seminar

In addition, the city has formed the training alliance between DSAC and 5 major universities in the city. It has signed a training cooperation agreement with the Ha Noi-based Phenikaa University and the Synopsys company to establish the VASA Vietnam training alliance.

In the first five months of 2024, Da Nang connected and worked with 22 large delegations of enterprises and organizations operating in semiconductor and AI industries.

Regarding infrastructure, on February 1, 2024, the Government issued Decree No. 09/2024/ND-CP allowing Da Nang to use the IT infrastructure of Software Park No. 2 with a total area of ​​more than 90,000m² to provide working conditions for 6,000 employees in a prime location of the city. It is expected that the Software Park No. 2 will come into operation in the fourth quarter of 2024 for ICT 1 building and the 1^st quarter of 2025 for the remaining 2 buildings.

Regarding development policies for semiconductor industry, the city has coordinated with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to advise the national government to submit to the National Assembly a draft resolution to replace Resolution No. 119/2020/QH14 dated June 19, 2020 on piloting the urban government model and a number of specific political mechanisms to develop Da Nang, including outstanding policies and preferential mechanisms in the fields of microchips and artificial intelligence.

The presentations and opinions at the seminar provided multi-dimensional perspectives, helping the city have a more comprehensive and in-depth view of the appropriate model to develop the semiconductor and AI industries in Da Nang and Viet Nam as a whole. This is an important source of documents for completing and implementing projects and specific policies in the coming time.

Within the framework of the conference, the Da Nang Department of Information and Communications signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Information Technology Institute under the Ha Noi National University on semiconductor and AI professional cooperation, research and development in Da Nang during the 2024-2029 period.

This signing aimed to contribute to building a training roadmap and developing the city's semiconductor and AI industries, thereby contributing to the general development of society.

Reporting by M.QUE, C.THANG - Translating by M.DUNG