Rebecca Bryant, Charge d’Affaires a.i. of the Australian Embassy (first from left) and Bùi Thế Duy, Vietnamese deputy minister of science and technology (first from right) grant the awards to winners. — Photo courtesy of Australian Embassy in Việt Nam

HÀ NỘI — Three innovation projects with funding totalling more than AUD1.6 million (US$1.1 million) allocated by Innovation Partnership Grants, part of the Australian Government’s Aus4Innovation programme, were announced on Wednesday in Hà Nội.

The winners of the grants’ first round were selected from 115 applications for their outstanding initiatives and potential positive economic and social impacts.

The three initiatives will be implemented by Australian universities in collaboration with universities and research institutes in Việt Nam.

They are the transfer of a university commercialisation model and demonstrate its application in water treatment and monitoring systems using industry 4.0 (University of Technology Sydney and Vietnamese National University of Engineering and Technology); production of a hormone that will boost productivity of sea cucumber farming (University of the Sunshine Coast and Research Institute for Aquaculture number Three); and introduction of a breakthrough methodology to transform breast cancer diagnostic efficacy (University of Sydney and the National Health Strategy and Policy Institute).

At the award ceremony on Wednesday, Rebecca Bryant, Charge d’Affaires a.i. of the Australian Embassy said: “Deeper, stronger ties between our innovation systems is a key goal for our strategic partnership with Việt Nam and the Innovation Partnership Grants provide excellent opportunities to nurture innovative ideas and scale on-going partnerships between Australian and Vietnamese organisations.

“I’m delighted to see more and more collaboration between the research institutions of our two countries.”

Bùi Thế Duy, Vietnamese deputy minister of science and technology said the innovation partnership has proven to be an effective mechanism for the two countries to share best practice and models to enhance the innovation systems in Việt Nam and Australia.

“We hope grants provided under the Aus4Innovation programme will set examples of how innovation – particularly when it can jointly developed and implemented – can transform our society and deliver economic, social and environmental sustainability,” he said.

Earlier this year, the Aus4Innovation programme launched the first round of Innovation Partnership Grants, aimed at providing financial support to help scale already tested activities that address emerging challenges or opportunities in any sector of Việt Nam’s innovation system.

Round two will be announced later this year.

The Aus4Innovation programme is co-funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and InnovationXchange, managed by the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and in strategic collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Technology of Việt Nam.

It is a four-year flagship programme between 2018 and 2022, aiming to help strengthen the Vietnamese innovation system and prepare for Việt Nam’s economic and digital future. — VNS