The Australia-Vietnam Strategic Partnership recognises innovation as one of the three pillars based on our shared belief that knowledge and innovation will underpin our future sustainable growth and prosperity.
Building upon significant, existing collaboration including through Australia’s bilateral development assistance to Vietnam, Vietnam and Australia will support several initiatives to promote cooperation in the fields of science, technology and innovation, and adoption of international standards for sustainable socio-economic development. The focus of new activities will be to create commercial opportunities and lasting linkages between our two countries.
This will include the establishment of, among others, an Australia-Vietnam Science, Technology, and Innovation Cooperation Initiative to promote collaboration between Australian and Vietnamese businesses, universities, and research institutions in joint research projects of mutual benefit. The Initiative will offer competitive grants to Australian applicants and their Vietnamese partners in priority research areas consistent with the Australia-Vietnam Joint Plan of Action on Science and Technology. Possible priority research areas may include sustainable development of the blue economy; food and agribusiness, recycling and waste management; and low emissions technologies. The grants would be complementary to key initiatives in these sectors listed elsewhere in this Implementation Plan, and those provided through the Aus4Innovation Innovation Partnership Grants.
Promote commercial cooperation in the fields of science, technology and innovation, and adoption of international standards for sustainable socio-economic development
Key initiatives- Vietnam and Australia to establish an Australia-Vietnam Science, Technology, and Innovation Cooperation Initiative, with joint funding from Australia and Vietnam, as a framework for a competitive grants process to promote collaboration between Australian and Vietnamese businesses, universities and research institutions to undertake joint research projects of mutual benefit, and which advance diversity, inclusion and equality in the sector.
- Continued cooperation through the Aus4Innovation program to strengthen Vietnam’s innovation agenda and system, including its readiness to embrace the opportunities presented by Industry 4.0.
- Vietnam and Australia commit to undertake matching exercises between Australian and Vietnamese universities, especially exchanges of students and staff, to help to build enduring relationships and innovation through research collaboration.
- Host a joint experts meeting between Australian and Vietnamese officials to discuss issues around science and research, including future areas of collaboration, and policy areas of mutual interest.
- Australia to support mentoring and skills development programs for women entrepreneurs and researchers in innovative and knowledge-intensive industries.
- Australia to support a pilot forum to connect SMEs from both countries and promote greater uptake of technology use through a technology transfer model.
- Australia to support a pilot activity to use trademark data to identify branding activities and explore new export markets for Vietnamese firms, as well as to increase Vietnamese firms’ awareness of Australia’s support for data-driven practice.
- Australia to support Vietnam in research and transfer of green chemical production technology, such as exploring opportunities with CSIRO to utilise Flow Chemistry to support the application of the circular economy model and the principles/criteria of green chemistry, to help Vietnam to achieve its sustainable development goals.