On September 19, a press conference was held in the DTU Auditorium concerning the 2023 Danang Startup & Innovation Festival (SURF). This annual event is sponsored by the Danang Department of Science & Technology to enable the startup & innovation community in Danang to get together and join the startup ecosystem. After a series of kick-off events, the Festival will officially take place on September 29, with the theme “Han River Aspiration: Unleashing Creativity”, with the co-organizer DTU promoting the message, “Danang, City of Innovation”.
SURF was first held in 2016 and has become an ideal investment opportunity for corporate executives, startup support organizations, venture capitalist funds, and local and foreign partners to Danang, to arouse interest and support in the community. Startups present their projects, technologies and products, looking for funding and the chance to improve the elements of the startup and innovation ecosystem in the city.
The 2023 SURF press conference
“Many fields, such as agriculture and IT, and specifically AI and high-tech, are undergoing rapid growth, which creates optimal conditions to those intent on implementing startup ideas,” said Deputy-Director of the Department of Science & Technology, Ms. Le Thi Thuc. “After seven successful years, SURF is now a place for individuals and startup businesses to connect with all the players and develop stronger. Topics include in-depth investment seminars, including the unlocking of sources of capital, and the international integration of the local startup and innovation ecosystem in the context of globalization, with virtual reality exhibitions, live booths, and an innovation startup competition. This will certainly accelerate the sustainable development of the local startup community even further.”
Since 2014, promoting startups and innovation has been a focus for the Danang city authorities. To date, there have been 163 startup projects, resulting in 61 new companies. In 2019, a resolution stipulating the level of support for the local startup and innovation ecosystem was issued. In the next three next years, the city supported 27 businesses with a total budget of 5 billion VND, which has motivated it to continue implementing activities to connect units and departments, to support their ongoing development.
SURF 2023 is carefully planned, with a series of events that will take place on the main Festival day, on September 29, in addition to other events beforehand. In particular, there will be three major conferences with national and international speakers: “Building Danang into a City of Innovation,” “Unlocking sources of capital for startups”, and “The international integration of the local startup and innovation ecosystem in the context of globalization”.
Journalists ask questions about the Festival day events
In addition, eighty booths will be on display, where projects, startup ideas, and large and small startup businesses will exhibit their products and exchange information. This will provide everyone with a better understanding of the startup journey and how to grow their businesses. The Festival will also arrange facilities for the presentation of ideas in the search for investment for startups, and the relationship of supply and demand for science and technology products and businesses.
The Festival will also host the official launch of the Danang-Seoul Innovation Space, and meanwhile, in cyberspace, the Virtual Reality Exhibition will run in parallel and also sponsors one hundred booths, from August 20 until December 30.
The first round of the innovation startup competition was launched with thirty competing teams on September 7. The ten teams selected for the finals on September 20 are now in training and prizes will be awarded at the opening ceremony of the Danang Startup & Innovation Festival on September 29.
Director of the Danang Department of Science & Technology, Mr. Le Duc Vien, said: “Along with the many important and practical activities during SURF 2023, the highlight of this year’s Festival is startups at universities, with many ideas coming from students and young lecturers alike. DTU has been reorienting its mission to become a recognized research & startup university.”
On behalf of the co-organizer, DTU Vice-Provost Dr. Tran Nhat Tan explained, “In addition to providing a basic education and the opportunity to conduct research, DTU holds several activities aimed at encouraging entrepreneurial spirit in students. The university has invested in the development of centers for practice and experimentation, with the latest facilities and equipment. Students can implement their ideas, conduct research, and work with companies to share information on starting a business, instilling trust, confidence and knowledge to start their own businesses and careers. At SURF 2023, DTU aims to provide invaluable opportunities to its own students, to entrepreneurs, to companies and others involved in startups and innovation now and in the future.”
(Media Center)