Universities play an important role in Viet Nam’s startup ecosystem whilst startup incubation is a necessary component to contribute to the growing number of successful businesses. However, in the past time, incubation activities at universities in Da Nang have not gained outstanding achievements.

Enhancing training and incubation in universities is one of the goals that the city's innovation startup ecosystem is aiming for. Delegates are seen exploring a booth at the SURF Innovation Startup Day 2022. Photo: M.Q

Therefore, how to enhance training and incubation at universities is one of the activities that the city's innovation startup ecosystem is aiming for.

Highly educated, young (for the most part) and unburdened by families, mortgages and the opportunity costs of quitting an established career, university students and recent graduates are an ideal demographic when it comes to entrepreneurship.

At the end of November, the Da Nang-based private Dong A University officially put into operation the startup and innovation space on the 9^th floor of the school. With an initial construction investment of more than VND 1 billion on a total area of 800m², the modern space comprises of 3 main areas corresponding to the project development stages.

In the next phase of the project, the startup and innovation space will be equipped with 3D printing equipment, cutting machines, and laser engraving in support for the formation of initial products from creative ideas.

Mr. Luong Minh Sam, Chairman of the Council of the Dong A University, said that the school’s startup and innovation space will become a place to support and foster creative and entrepreneurial ideas presented by lecturers and student, organise short-term training programmes related to innovation, entrepreneurship and startup support, as well as accompany the research community, experts and businesses that have ideas, startup products needing to be supported in the central region and across the country at large.

It can be said that the opening of the startup and innovation space in this university is one of the important activities to promote incubation activities in schools, demonstrating the school’s participation in building the city’s innovative startup ecosystem. In fact, the field of innovation still has a big gap at the university, and a few startups have risen up in the university, as well as at the municipal  or national levels.

The ideas from students face many challenges that need to be overcome such as novelty of ideas, production technology, methods of applying technology to serve ideas, order and commercial procedures, technology and intellectual property. In addition, issues of infrastructure, policies, human resources, training programs, cooperation and networking are also major barriers.

Faced with this fact, Da Nang recently actively implemented highly practical activities to promote incubation at universities.

Specifically, the Da Nang Department of Science and Technology has asked the Da Nang Innovation Startup Support Centre to implement task of ‘advising on the establishment of science and technology business incubators, setting up facilities and focal points for technology incubation and business incubation for organisations in need”.

This task aims at implementing the project to support the national innovation startup ecosystem until 2025 in Da Nang.

Recently, the Da Nang Innovation Startup Support Centre has collected information and surveyed the need to establish incubators at startup support units, incubators, business promotion organisations, universities, research institutes and laboratories.

Currently, there are two pioneer units registered and eligible for the establishment of an incubator in 2022, namely is the Dong A University and Da Nang College of Economics and Planning. In early November, the Da Nang Innovation Startup Support Centre organised a training programme on operation management and incubator development for the two above-mentioned universities

As a person who have directly offered training, shared experience as well as signed cooperation agreements with a number of universities in the city on building incubators, Mr. Ly Dinh Quan, General Director of Songhan Incubator (Shi) said that universities should focus more on the field of innovation startups because the human resources from universities are very large.

In order to start innovative startups, schools need to develop a long-term plan in which it is necessary to refer to the city's policies to support startup activities.

At the same time, schools should also pour more resources into building incubators and creating creative and incubating spaces for students to have the opportunity to develop startup projects, bringing startup models and projects to incubators and strengthening the connection among universities for the sake of stronger startup ecosystem.

So as for students to develop better startup ideas, Mr. Trinh Quoc Bao, the Deputy Director of Information Technology Center, Da Nang Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) said that VNPT is building a VNPT Student Lab model.

This is a model to help students experience real-life VNPT projects, work with VNPT's professional programmers  and gain deeper access to knowledge, teamwork skills, software development and more microservices. This early practical participation helps to strengthen and contribute to each individual's career orientation after graduation.

Reporting by MAI QUE- Translating by A.THU