The Techfest 2021 launch ceremony took place online. Source: TF

In the morning of September 16, the 7th National Innovation and Startup Festival Techfest 2021 with the topic "Embracing Innovation - Reshaping The Future" was officially launched in a online ceremony.

This year, the Ministry of Science and Technology will coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) to organize this event.

“Techfest 2021 is held in special circumstances due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. With such a situation, I hope that startup ideas will work towards solving socio-economic problems, with new business models in the new normal condition," said Deputy Minister of Science and Technology. Technologist Tran Van Tung said at the launch ceremony, "Last year, the Ministry of Science and Technology focused on supporting startups with centralized workplaces, a team of mentors, startup training programs, and connections with startups. domestic and foreign investors and investment funds. In 2021, the Ministry of Science and Technology aims to support startups that can bring products to market.”

Regarding the new points of this year's Techfest, the representative of the organization Board, Mr. Pham Hong Quat - Director of the Department of Market Development and Science and Technology Enterprises, Ministry of Science and Technology, specifically stated:

About time: The event takes place in 3 months, from September to December, instead of just being organized for 1 month like every year.

In terms of form: A combination of face-to-face and online in permitted conditions; otherwise, will be held entirely online.

About activities: It is expected that there will be more than 50 programs of conferences, seminars, talks, contests within the framework of the event along with many new activities, such as training, answering questions, crowdfunding, and etc.

About Tech Village: There are more new technology villages, such as: Cybersecurity Village, Social Innovation and Challenge Village, Entertainment & Media Technology Village, Logistic Technology Village, Platforms & Infrastructure Village technology floor, Invention Village and Innovative Enterprise. In addition, the Smart City Technology Village has the field of Digital Real Estate technology; Health Technology Village has more Innovative Healthcare Solutions; Farm Village, Tourism - Food Village and Local Village merged into Indigenous Agriculture - Food and Tourism Technology Village.

On professional topics: Techfest 2021 will solve the problems of the Innovation Startup Ecosystem in particular and the economy in general with activities, such as the IPO-oriented Startup Support Solutions Conference; Solution conference to attract expatriate experts with Vietnamese innovation start-up ecosystem; Conference on solutions to promote the formation of start-up businesses from exploiting intellectual property at institutes and schools; Conference on the role of innovative start-ups in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and post-pandemic economic recovery.

Techfest 2021 will test the implementation of an open innovation platform model with the leadership of a network of experts and volunteer advisors of Tech Villages. Accordingly, there will be activities to exploit available resources from the innovation ecosystem of domestic and international technology groups, such as Vingroup, Qualcomm, Shinhan Bank, etc. will accompany startups to solve internal problems through this platform. This approach has been successfully implemented in some countries, such as Singapore, Korea, and Thailand.

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