At the 8th Annual International Conference of the Ho Chi Minh City Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) – Southeast Region Research and Innovation Day, held on 16/10 at SHTP, Dr. Dinh Vu Trang Ngan, President of Fulbright University Vietnam, outlined a strategic shift. She emphasized moving from a traditional human resource training model towards a co-creation partnership among academia, research institutes, and businesses.

According to Dr. Ngan, the presence of universities within the high-tech ecosystem fosters substantive partnerships beyond mere geographical proximity. Instead of only hosting interns or recruiting graduates, businesses can directly engage in training and research. This allows universities and businesses to jointly identify practical problems, develop curricula, conduct research, and generate new knowledge.

This new direction aligns with Fulbright's plan to expand its operations at SHTP, strengthening the connection between training, research, and the technological development needs of businesses.

The discussion session "Developing high-tech human resources to meet business needs" took place on 16/10. *Photo: Fulbright University Vietnam.*

A university representative noted that 2026 marks ten years since Fulbright University Vietnam's establishment. Its initial stage focused on building an educational foundation, developing faculty, and establishing partnerships. Building on this, Fulbright now aims to expand its contributions beyond the university, especially in science, technology, and innovation.

"For the first ten years, we focused on building Fulbright. The next chapter must address a more challenging question: what can Fulbright help build outside the university?", Dr. Dinh Vu Trang Ngan shared.

To realize this vision, Fulbright proposes four key areas for cooperation with businesses and organizations at SHTP: sharing research and practical infrastructure; involving business experts in teaching; implementing interdisciplinary applied research projects; and developing training programs to meet human resource needs in artificial intelligence (AI).

Integrating real-world business problems into teaching and research will help students gain early exposure to the work environment. It also enables businesses to participate directly in human resource development. Dr. Ngan affirmed: "This is not merely a relationship between a training institution and an employer. It is a co-creation relationship: jointly defining problems, developing people, creating knowledge, and taking shared responsibility for the outcomes."

Fulbright highlights the need for innovation in training as AI increasingly handles tasks related to data analysis, programming, and technical processing.

Dr. Dinh Vu Trang Ngan speaks at the event. *Photo: Fulbright University Vietnam.*

Dr. Ngan emphasized that future high-quality human resources require not only specialized knowledge but also critical thinking, judgment, human understanding, and a strong sense of responsibility.

Fulbright implements this direction through its three-dimensional educational philosophy, "Know - Do - Be," which combines acquiring knowledge, developing practical application skills, and fostering social responsibility.

In research, the university established the Fulbright AI Research Institute with Google's support, aiming to develop AI research capabilities and applications.

Concurrently, Fulbright continues to seek cooperation opportunities with businesses, research institutes, and training institutions to connect academic resources with technological development needs.

Previously, at the end of 8/2026, the Ho Chi Minh City Hi-Tech Park Management Board connected Fulbright with FPT University, HUTECH University, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, and other entities to gradually form a high-tech human resource training ecosystem.

Delegates representing management agencies, businesses, research institutes, and universities inaugurated the 8th Annual International Conference of the Ho Chi Minh City Hi-Tech Park. *Photo: Fulbright University Vietnam.*

Building on this, Fulbright expressed its readiness to participate in the proposed Interdisciplinary Training Center model at SHTP. This model aims to connect resources among universities, research organizations, and businesses, serving training and research in strategic technology fields.

Yen Chi