Academics from the School of Design at Australia’s Swinburne University of Technology participated in a workshop hosted by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Architecture, Vietnam.
According to a recent press release, the recent “Smart City Development: Experiences from Vietnam and Australia” workshop attracted participants from government departments, urban planning and design industries, universities and research institutions for smart cities in Vietnam.
Australia and Vietnam smart city initiative
The workshop was the first in a Knowledge Exchange for Smart City: Australia and Vietnam series supported by an Australia-ASEAN Council grant from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
The University, which is represented by Dr Quoc Phuong Dinh, leads the grant.
Meanwhile, The University of Melbourne, which is represented by Dr Hyungmin Kim, is an Australian partner institution.
The project is supported by the Swinburne Smart Cities Institute and Centre for Design Innovation.
About the workshop
The workshop provided a venue for expert presentations and group workshops.
This encouraged sharing of knowledge about the roles of local infrastructure, technology and community engagement and understanding about smart cities.
University Professors shared their first-hand experiences in Designing with Temporal-Spatial Data for Smarter Cities and Experiences from Smart City Projects at Swinburne.
Moreover, they also chaired group discussions about smart city development.
Smart city sites in Ho Chi Minh City were visited. These sites include the following:
- The new Centre for Management of Traffic Systems
- The Saigon River Tunnel Network
- FPT Software headquarters
- The Landmark 81 building designed by a British architectural firm
- Atkins, which is the tallest building in Vietnam and was recently completed with smart building facilities and services
The recent Ho Chi Minh City workshop, as well as the Melbourne workshop that is being planned for November at Swinburne, are both supporting bilateral understanding of smart city approaches in Australia and Vietnam.
The workshops and site visits encourage experts from Vietnam and Australia to share and exchange experiences and lessons learnt from current planning and policy approaches to smart cities in both countries.
Collaboration is key
The workshop was the first formal and professional activity highlighting ongoing collaboration between the University and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Architecture.
Experiences and questions on smart city development presented in the workshop bring a mutual understanding of smart city projects currently undertaken at both institutions.
This understanding will be furthered in the upcoming Melbourne workshop with potential collaborative projects in the near future.
OpenGov Asia recently reported on Victoria, Australia to boost Vietnam’s tech workforce.
The technology and skills expertise of Victoria, Australia is helping foster a unique relationship in Vietnam as Melbourne-based Swinburne University of Technology partners with FPT University, which is a leading private university in Vietnam.
The Swinburne-FPT partnership will also improve the student mobility between Melbourne and Vietnam as there will be opportunities for Swinburne students to undertake studies in Vietnam and vice versa.
