Binh Dinh with a different technology development policy - Part 1: A place where knowledge, technology and AI industry converge

Photo caption

The International Center for Interdisciplinary Science and Education ICISE in Quy Hoa valley is considered a "magnet" for the digital economic and AI orientation of Binh Dinh .

Lesson 1: Where knowledge, technology and AI industry converge

If we had to choose a locality that is taking a different but future-oriented step, it would be Binh Dinh. From a land that is familiar with the image of "Xu Nau", where agriculture and fisheries once accounted for a high proportion of the economic structure, Binh Dinh is entering the global technology race in its own way and is shaping itself into a new intellectual center of Vietnam.

From ICISE, the source of intelligence, to the foundation of AI industry

In a period when many localities are focusing on attracting light industrial projects, logistics infrastructure and urban development, and selling land to collect budget revenue, Binh Dinh is quietly preparing for a different transformation. The presence as a pioneer of the International Center for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE) is the first sign showing that orientation.

Not only is it a place of inspiration, ICISE is also being planned to become the core center in the 242-hectare Science Urban Area - the first new model of "research valley" in Vietnam, converging academia - technology - creativity. The dream of helping the country develop the field of basic science and experimental science to serve as the foundation for socio-economic development of the French-Vietnamese couple, Professor Tran Thanh Van and Professor Le Kim Ngoc, has come true.

ICISE is the first yeast that makes a breakthrough for Binh Dinh: Starting from basic science, accumulating a long-term foundation, then moving to applied technology. After 6 years, ICISE has attracted Vietnam's technology "giants" to Quy Hoa valley to create the first science city in Vietnam. The main road in this area is also officially named Science Avenue. Over the past decade, this place has organized more than 200 international scientific conferences, attracting thousands of the world's leading scientists, including many Nobel Prize-winning professors.

ICISE is an academic space, a launching pad to inspire young generations, a "soft axis" connecting global knowledge with Vietnam. Since 2016, many pioneering events on artificial intelligence have been organized, when AI was still a strange concept in Vietnam.

Over many terms, generations of leaders of Binh Dinh province have maintained their belief that Quy Nhon will develop with information technology, digital economy and artificial intelligence. Secretary of Binh Dinh Provincial Party Committee Ho Quoc Dung affirmed: “With the strategic vision of many successive generations of leaders, we have gradually proposed and removed each unprecedented policy, paved the way and built the first scientific city of Vietnam. Up to now, Quy Nhon is one of the technology centers of Vietnam, aiming to be the center of technology and artificial intelligence of the whole Southeast Asia region”.

2019 marked a turning point when FPT Corporation officially chose Quy Nhon as the place to lay the foundation for its first AI Center in Vietnam. This was a surprising choice in the technology world at that time, because it was not Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, but a peaceful coastal city in the Central region. But in that tranquility, there is great potential - people, creative space, and support from the local government.

FPT Software Quy Nhon quickly went into operation in 2020 with more than 200 engineers. After three years, that number has exceeded 600 people, most of whom are from Binh Dinh and the Central provinces, and it is expected that by 2027, this number will be 2,000 people. Together with TMA Solutions Company with more than 600 engineers and experts working, Quy Hoa Valley has the "dense" density of digital technology experts in Vietnam. Modern, green and flexible workspaces right near the beach, combined with synchronous modeling - research - application, have created a new generation of AI engineers in Vietnam.

Besides FPT, TMA Solutions - one of the leading software companies in Vietnam - also chose Quy Nhon to build a 15-hectare Innovation Park. TMA Innovation Park gathers R&D activities in data science, AI, Big Data, IoT, Blockchain... serving major markets such as North America, Japan, and Europe. The Innovation Park becomes a center for spreading the spirit of innovation.

That overall picture creates an ecosystem that develops in a circular pattern: basic science - core technology - commercial application - human resource upgrading - then returns to motivate further science. FPT Software Quy Nhon CEO Vu Van Dong informed: "According to FPT Corporation's orientation, Quy Nhon will be the place to concentrate resources for the field of artificial intelligence - AI, AI chips of the entire FPT ecosystem".

Building an AI - semiconductor ecosystem

Photo caption

FPT Software Quy Nhon's creative working environment at Quy Hoa Creative Park.

Quy Nhon has the advantage of being close to the international maritime border, and has been chosen as the landing point for the two largest capacity cable lines in Vietnam. Of which, Viettel's ADC Asia Direct Cable has been operating with a capacity of 50 Tbps - equal to 125% of the total international bandwidth of the five previous submarine cable lines that Vietnam used, including SMW-3, IA, AAG, APG and AAE-1. The remaining line of VNPT landing in Quy Nhon is being completed and will also be put into operation this year. These factors are preparing for a spectacular breakthrough so that Binh Dinh will not only focus on AI, but will proactively transform its knowledge advantage into a bigger step: semiconductor development.

As early as 2021, the province started construction of the AI Center complex in Long Van Urban Area - phase 1 is expected to be completed in 2026 - and expanded into a high-tech urban area, integrating research, training, testing and living space for experts.

The total investment for two key projects - the 2,700 billion VND Research Training Complex and the 4,500 billion VND Long Van AI Center - makes Binh Dinh the locality with the largest high-tech investment in the Central region. But what makes the difference is not the numbers, but the orientation - the local government always puts people at the center. Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Ho Quoc Dung affirmed: "We are determined to move forward and develop with a green economy, a digital economy based on scientific aspirations and a creative living environment. Binh Dinh must create a digital technology industry to firmly enter the era of artificial intelligence".

Products developed by FPT here have gone beyond Vietnam's borders. Solutions such as QAI Dora - a product quality monitoring system, sea warning, aquaculture environment management... all use AI cameras and integrated systems, data analysis reduces 90% of human resources; or AkaOCR - a Vietnamese optical character recognition tool - not only serves the domestic market but is also commercialized in Japan, the US, and Europe, bringing in tens of millions of USD in revenue each year. Part of the advantage comes from the fact that the team of engineers are trained in a realistic environment, thanks to FPT's own integrated training - production model.

Besides FPT, TMA Solutions - a leading information technology enterprise - also established a research center in Quy Nhon, contributing to the thickening of the AI map of the Central region. Meanwhile, universities are reshaping their training programs to better meet the needs of AI human resources - such as Quy Nhon University, which has established the Institute of Data Science and AI, in collaboration with the John von Neumann Institute (VNU-HCM) and many international organizations.

From a coastal locality in the Central region, Binh Dinh is entering the global innovation map, sustainably and with courage. Without flashiness and noise - but only with the right strategy, a steadfast spirit, and a belief in the value of Vietnamese knowledge, from an industrial "lowland", Binh Dinh is rising to become a new growth pole - with creativity and a unique path on the Vietnamese industrial map.

Final Lesson: Attracting and Training Talent

According to VNA

Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/cong-nghe/binh-dinh-voi-chinh-sach-phat-trien-cong-nghe-khac-biet-bai-1-noi-hoi-tu-tri-thuc-cong-nghe-va-cong-nghiep-ai/20250516062348433