Berlin (VNA) – Vietnam and Germany are stepping up efforts to connect their innovation and startup ecosystems following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Vietnam's National Innovation Centre (NIC) and the Centre for Entrepreneurship (CfE) of the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin).
The deal, inked in Berlin on March 24 by NIC Director Vu Quoc Huy and Prof. Dr. Jan Kratzer, Academic Director of CfE, marks a significant step in strengthening cooperation between Vietnam and Germany in innovation, entrepreneurship and strategic technology sectors.
The signing was made at the suggestion of Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung during his visit and working session with CfE a day earlier.
The Vietnamese official highly valued CfE’s reputation and pioneering role in building Germany’s innovation-driven startup ecosystem, and called for stronger cooperation with NIC to support Vietnamese universities, research institutes and organisations in training and scientific research.
He highlighted the goal of transferring successful ecosystem models to support Vietnamese startups and enable them to expand to international markets.
Under the MoU, NIC and CfE will jointly develop training and capacity-building programmes for startups; organise technology forums, thematic workshops and startup competitions; and boost collaboration in incubation and acceleration initiatives for startups. The partnership also includes exchanges of startups, students and researchers, as well as joint research projects in strategic technology fields identified by the two sides.
The MoU is expected to help deepen institutional cooperation, and foster linkages between the innovation ecosystems of the two countries. By leveraging combined strengths in knowledge, technology and investment, the partnership aims to better support startups and technology enterprises, thereby speeding up Vietnam’s digital transformation and innovation-driven economic development.
As one of the leading technical universities in Germany, TU Berlin is known for its strengths in technology research and development and sustainable development promotion. It is a co-founder of the Science & Startups network, a joint startup platform formed by three major universities in Berlin – TU Berlin, Humboldt University and Freie Universität Berlin.
Each year, TU Berlin’s startup ecosystem supports around 40 hi-tech startup projects, of which roughly 10 are successfully established as companies.
Meanwhile, CfE plays a central role in fostering entrepreneurship, innovation and commercialisation of research outcomes, acting as a bridge between scientists, students and investors./.
VNA
