In his opening remarks, Prof. Nghiem Duc Long of UTS and VASEA President, said the forum serves as a two-way bridge for science, technology and innovation cooperation between Vietnam and Australia.

He stressed its role in promoting bilateral collaboration, highlighting the strategic significance of the partnership and the essential importance of people-to-people links and knowledge exchange. The event, he noted, reflected both countries’ strong commitment to advancing green technologies, digital transformation and sustainable development.

The strong presence of distinguished guests from both countries also signalled growing recognition of the contributions of the Vietnamese intellectual and expert community in Australia, demonstrating how innovation can deliver societal value and support a shared sustainable future.

Prof. Eryk Dutkiewicz, Associate Dean International in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at UTS, said Vietnam has set out an ambitious agenda for science, technology, digital transformation, green growth and human resource development, an agenda well aligned with UTS’s strengths as one of Australia’s leading universities in technology and innovation. Cooperation between the two sides, he affirmed, is grounded in trust, respect and shared objectives.

UTS is currently partnering with more than 15 universities, research institutes and government agencies across Vietnam in various fields, including artificial intelligence, smart cities, Industry 4.0, cybersecurity, water and environmental engineering, healthcare, design, business and law. Through these partnerships, UTS aims to help Vietnam build a skilled, adaptable and resilient workforce for the future.

Former Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski, who is now a senior advisor to VASEA, commended Vietnam’s progress in recent years, particularly in technology and innovation, noting that many Australian companies are eager to hire software engineers and data analysts from Vietnam. He predicted that Vietnam could become Australia’s second-largest IT partner after India and welcomed the deepening bilateral ties, which, he said, are built on trust, mutual respect and practical cooperation.

At the forum, representatives from leading companies such as AgriS, ARC Ento Tech Ltd, ROWS, ANSCentre, FPT, Viettel, AIBox and Calix Global showcased advanced technologies and research supporting two-way science and technology exchange between the two countries. They also presented new opportunities in high-tech and circular agriculture, including data-driven farming, biotechnology, large-scale climate-adaptive models and initiatives promoting agri-tech cooperation through large farm operations, precision farming and digital solutions.

A highlight of the event was the official launch of VietNEST, an AI-powered digital learning platform designed to transform Vietnamese-language education for children in Australia. Supported by the Australia Social Impact Foundation (ASIF Foundation) and developed in partnership with VietSchool, VietNEST offers a modern, interactive learning experience.

The platform enables learners to practise dialects from all three regions of Vietnam (North, Central and South) and create bilingual stories about life in Australia, helping preserve language and cultural identity in a contemporary and authentic way. Importantly, VietNEST equips young Australians of Vietnamese origin with the language skills needed to engage with Vietnam in science, technology and innovation in the future.

Vietnamese business forum held in Australia

A forum of Vietnamese entrepreneurs in Australia took place in Melbourne on November 19, highlighting investment, trade, and intellectual cooperation.