The Viet Nam - Korea University of Information and Communications Technology (VKU) opened its Fintech Hub (Fintech training, research and innovation centre) on Friday.

Chairman of the Da Nang People's Council Ngo Xuan Thang (third, right) and delegates making a symbolic gesture to open VKU Fintech Hub. Photo: NGOC HA

In his speech delivered at the launching ceremony, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Da Nang People's Committee Ho Ky Minh emphasised that the financial technology (Fintech) sector has been becoming one of the important pillars of the digital economy in the context of deepening globalisation and the strong development of the 4.0 Industrial Revolution. The Fintech sector is expected to face a shortage of high-quality human resources in the time to come as there is a boom in fintech companies in Viet Nam.

Particularly for Da Nang, the project on building the city into a regional financial hub identifies Fintech as an important component to form and develop a financial centre in the city in the spirit of Conclusion No. 79-KL/TW and Resolution No. 43-NQ/TW of the Politburo on building and developing Da Nang to 2030, with a vision to 2045.

"VKU Fintech Hub will become a place for creative ideas, and a place to connect investors, experts and Fintech startups, thereby nurturing breakthrough ideas, and serving the development of both the financial technology industry and the city. This is also an opportunity for us to build a diverse and growing Fintech community, contributing to enhancing Da Nang's competitiveness in the context of international integration", said Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh.

VKU Fintech Hub is invested with modern equipment, a system of specialized software for financial data analysis SAS, simulation software (e-commerce trading floor, electronic payment, digital marketing ...), and a system of textbooks, reference materials, monographs, with the aim of opening a Fintech training sector.

Chairman of the municipal People's Council Ngo Xuan Thang (second, right) visiting the innovation space at VKU. Photo: NGOC HA

Sponsored by Hanwha Life Group and ChildFund Korea, VKU Fintech Hub is a large project associated with the innovation centre with a scale of 1,500m² at VKU which is as part of South Korea’s ODA project.

Once operational, VKU Fintech Hub will focus on 3 main groups of tasks: training, incubation (connecting businesses and investors, consulting on policies and technology solutions, and organising startup competitions) and research.

In the research task alone, a number of strong research groups in the field of Fintech will be developed, especially interdisciplinary combining many technologies such as AI in finance; research on support policies and management regulations for Fintech; data technology and data analysis serving Fintech; new technologies applied to Fintech such as Blockchain, AI, and Machine Learning; and Fintech startup ecosystem.

VKU plans to enroll 60 students in Fintech major from 2025. 100% of training programmes will be taught in English, and there will be internships at enterprises. The purpose is to meet the human resource demands for the city, major partners of Hanwha Life Group, and the global market.

Reporting by NGOC HA - Translating by M.DUNG