Towards development of sustainable scientific cities

The World Technopolis Association (WTA) summit 2018 officially took place in the southern province of Binh Duong yesterday, October 10. Along with the WTA Executive Board and  Global Innovation Forum (GIF) Organizing Board meeting, the final round of the “Smart City Ideas Competition: Binh Duong 2018” also kicked off.

Int’l cooperation boosted

Binh Duong province has so far cooperated with 20 partners, including prosperous cities, multinational corporations, institutes and great universities around the world. The event of becoming an official member of the WTA and hosting the WTA summit 2018 is seen as one of the province’s striking demonstrations for boosting international cooperation. It is known that the WTA summit 2018 is co-held by Binh Duong, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and South Korea’s Daejeon city.

Mai Hung Dung (second left), member of provincial Party Standing Committee, Permanent Vice-Chairman of provincial People’s Committee together with delegates has a look at the 3S-safe vegetable model of Thu Dau Mot University

The World Technopolis Association (WTA) is an NGO-based multilateral international organization created in 1998 with the purpose of connecting the advancement of science and technology to regional development. The organization believes that the development of science and technology directly leads to the welfare and prosperity of mankind towards the development of sustainable urban science and governance of cities in a global context. It is known that the WTA’s vision is sustainable technopolis development.

WTA has now 106 members from 48 countries and territories. In addition to Binh Duong, there are four Southeast Asian nations in this association, including Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Cambodia (Cambodian Royal Institute). The WTA is also a partner of the UNESCO in implementing cooperation projects on science and technology support for developing countries.

Main activities

A series of meetings will take place during the WTA 2018 summit. Particularly, the 2018 Global Innovation Forum will discuss strategies and policies on raising competitiveness, which is an important tool for sustainable development, and will put forward suggestions for future directions…The 10^th WTA University Presidents Forum will also take place under the theme of “Smart cooperation strategy between government and universities”. This is a high-level meeting among research-oriented universities of the globe, aiming to provide active discussion on the role of universities as one of the core actors of regional innovation ecosystem. It will be held at the Eastern International University with the participation of global university leaders and students.

Under the theme of “New technologies for smart city development”, the 16^th WTA Hi-tech Fair absorbs 33 participating businesses. The fair showcases cutting-edge technologies and services, as well as featuring a line-up of strategic business matching programs and networking opportunities for businesses.  Its exhibition zones include smart infrastructure zone, smart IT zone, smart energy & environment zone…

The WTA 2018 is an opportunity for Binh Duong to approach science-technology advancements, exchange with politicians, scholars, scientists and enterprises around the world to get more experience in smart city development. It will also help the province increase its international co-operation, promote its brand and create more investment opportunities.

Reported by Phuong Le-Translated by K.T