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Under the MoU signed Wednesday, the two parties will set up a joint venture to manufacture solid-state batteries for electric cars. The joint venture will be licensed to use ProLogium’s patented solid-state battery pack assembly technology.

This is a strategic step for VinFast in mastering battery technology for electric vehicles, laying a foundation for its research and development of smart and advanced electric vehicles in the future.

Founded in 2006, ProLogium is the world’s leading solid-state battery maker. In 2017, ProLogium became the first company in the world to have a test line for solid-state battery technology for automotive applications.

Its solid-state batteries have passed safety tests in Europe and China, which are the world’s largest electric vehicle markets.

It is also cooperating with large electric cars manufacturers to test a new battery technology and expects to deploy it for mass-production in 2023-2024.

By using solid-state batteries, VinFast electric cars will be able to go longer distances, reduce charging time, and increase the total number of times they can be charged.

VinFast’s partnership with ProLogium is a part of its plan to become a global smart electric car brand.

In January, VinFast introduced three new electric self-driving car models. It is also setting up electric charging stations nationwide , aiming at 40,000 charging ports for electric bikes and cars by the end of 2021.

VinFast sold 31,500 cars in Vietnam last year. Since entering the auto industry three years ago the company now has a plant in the northern province of Hai Phong and R&D centers in Australia, Germany and the U.S.

According to the comprehensive plan to develop the IT human resources, Vietnam needed 1 million workers in the IT field in 2020. Yet the reality shows that there are only 600,000 IT students being trained in 400 higher educational institutes and 8 key IT training centers nationwide.

Statistics from the Institute of Information Technology Strategy (under the Ministry of Information & Communications) show that 72 percent of IT students lack practical experience, while 42 percent are weak at team work. Only 15 percent of IT graduates satisfy the demands of employers.

Vietnam now has over 700 IT companies working in key fields of the IT industry, including 220 foreign ones. They mostly locate in major cities or software parks.

Notably, despite a high job potential, the AI field still attracts little attention from both learners and trainers. There is no formal university department or school to specifically provide tertiary education in this field. Most curriculum focus on software developing, which is a rather old trend of the previous decade. This calls for a serious curriculum redesign to answer the current needs of IT companies, both domestic and international.

There should be an establishment of AI departments in universities or the development of such majors as computer vision, natural language processing, Big Data, robotics. Tertiary educational institutes should cooperate with IT businesses for internship programs, career guiding fairs, academic challenges, and training equipment provision (like server clusters, computing clusters, GPU, robots, IoT devices).

Experts voiced that in order for HCMC to own sufficient core AI human resources, the municipal authorities must first identify the market needs and the ability to apply research result in reality. They then have to actively link the development of smart city, innovative urban areas with the growth of talented AI employees.

These actions will gradually form a complete AI ecosystem so that HCMC can transform into a database center of the whole Southeast Asian region in 2030, and of the world in the far future.

There must be clear short-term as well as long-term strategies to turn HCMC into a smart city, including the three key points of research and training, technology mastering, and innovation promotion.

Regarding the first key point, more investment should be pour into the AI field via supporting funds, collaboration with national and international partners to take advantage of all possible strengths.

A kind of ‘shared university’ for AI training could be formed, where educational facilities are located in one place, and the teaching staff or research teams come to perform their tasks. This model does need specific policies to regulate particular responsibilities and rights of each partner, as well as the role of the municipal authorities in the project.

Director of Vietnam National University – HCMC Vu Hai Quan stated that the potential of key AI research teams directly shape the training direction for new AI workers. They are the model for the young generations to look up to.

Therefore, the AI human resources training project should consist of financial aid for major AI research teams to expand their study in various fields, the construction of AI labs, the organization of academic contests about AI to tackle existing problems in the community.

These actions will no doubt increase the position of Vietnam in the global AI top list and the awareness of AI importance in the society.

By Thanh Hung – Translated by Thanh Tam

Two flights, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Vietnamese Embassy in Myanmar and Vietnam Airlines, brought the Vietnamese citizens from Myanmar to central Da Nang City.

A Thursday press release by the foreign ministry said repatriated citizens include those below 18 years of age, the elderly, those with underlying conditions and others in dire circumstances.

Covid-19 prevention measures, including medical declarations, body temperature checks and wearing protective equipment were deployed throughout the flight to prevent coronavirus infection.

After landing in Da Nang, citizens were quarantined at centralized quarantine zones run by the military in Da Nang and central Quang Nam Province, the Da Nang Center for Disease Control (CDC) said.

Myanmar is experiencing a period of political instability after its army seized power and detained government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership last month. Protests have broke out nationwide and at least 50 people have been killed.