Hanoi (VNA) - More than 150 booths introducing innovativesolutions and products will be open at the Vietnam International InnovationExpo 2021 (VIIE 2021), a press conference held in Hanoi on December 29 was told.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong said the expo,scheduled for January 9 and 10, 2021, is the first of its kind in Vietnamcoordinated by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the ministries ofScience and Technology, Information and Communications, Industry and Trade, andEducation and Training.

It affirms the constructive role of the Vietnamese Government inmobilising resources and connecting members of the innovation ecosystem fordevelopment, he stated, highlighting the central role of enterprises in theecosystem for innovation.

The exhibition shows that Vietnam is a destination of innovation in thenew era, he added.

According to Vu Quoc Huy, vice director in charge of the VietnamNational Innovation Centre (NIC), VIIE 2021 will take place at a venue withinthe Hoa Lac High-tech Park reserved for building the NIC.

It is expected to see the participation of renowned local businesseslike Viettel, Vingroup, and MoMo, foreign-funded firms including Samsung,Hyosung, Intel and Dell, startups, and several small- and medium-sizedenterprises (SMEs). Cooperatives, companies, and production facilitiesrepresenting vulnerable groups and sponsored by the ministry will also takepart.

Also on the agenda are activities to link startups together; SMEs with investmentfunds and big companies; foreign-funded firms with their domestic peers; andplayers in the innovation ecosystem. Five workshops will be held, discussingthe role of innovation in boosting the quality of economic growth, innovationin leading enterprises, and smart consumers in Industry 4.0, among others.

Visitors will be treated to an introduction and demo of impressivetechnological solutions and products, like a goods transport robot, offshorewind power turbines, drones serving search and rescue missions, and COVID-19prevention and control robots.

Another highlight is a STEAM festival for students. STEAM is aneducational approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering,the Arts and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry,dialogue, and critical thinking.

The press conference also announced the start of construction of the NIC.

Established under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the centre aimsto support and develop a startup ecosystem in Vietnam and promote innovation aswell as a growth model based on scientific and technological development./.