Building a knowledge-based, creative and livable city

Danang Information, Monitoring and Smart Operation Center (IOC). Photo: XUAN HAU

Serving people

Mr. Nguyen Van Quoc, Director of the Information, Monitoring and Smart Operation Center (IOC) of Da Nang, said that the unit is deploying a series of digital services to help the government manage effectively and people be more proactive in responding to natural disasters, traffic, security and public services.

The IOC currently connects more than 750 cameras across the city, monitoring traffic, flooding, urban security and hydropower system operations. In the maritime sector, the center also manages data on more than 1,000 fishing vessels, tracking their operating status, and warnings when vessels leave the boundary or lose signal offshore, contributing to the prevention of illegal fishing.

From a network of 82 rain gauge stations, 56 flood warning towers, 22 flood warning towers and 8 river water level measuring stations, the center has integrated the Da Nang Rainfall Flood Map System, providing real-time data to serve disaster response direction.

People can monitor rainfall and water levels online and send real-time flood information and SOS requests via the DaNang Smart City application or the website “https://muangap.danang.gov.vn”.

During the heavy rains at the end of October 2025 alone, the system recorded 105 flooded areas, 16 landslides, and 15 emergency rescue requests, helping the authorities handle the situation quickly and promptly.

“People become “eyes and ears on the spot”, participating in managing and responding intelligently to natural disasters,” Mr. Quoc shared.

Not only stopping at the city level, the IOC model is spreading to communes and wards. Vice Chairman of Nam Tra My Commune People's Committee Vo Nhu Son Tra said that the IOC system has been effectively applied in local management and direction.

IOC helps local leaders monitor work progress, warn about expiring files, grasp the situation of education , population, labor and even weather developments. During the recent storm, thanks to the 12-24 hour flood forecasting application, Nam Tra My promptly warned people in vulnerable areas.

The commune is also coordinating with the IOC Center to add more data on poor households, population, and labor to the system to serve social security and socio-economic development.

“Effectiveness does not lie in building a large center, but in having complete and properly exploited data. Leaders only need to open the app to immediately grasp the situation,” said Mr. Son Tra.

As a key tourist locality, Ngu Hanh Son ward is taking the lead in connecting technology with culture, education and startups. Vice Chairman of the Ward People's Committee Ta Tu Binh said that in 2025, the ward's Youth Union will organize the contest "Innovate with AI - Promote tourism, products and local culture" to encourage union members, youth and students to apply artificial intelligence (AI) to create digital products for tourism, promote craft villages, heritage and OCOP products.

“We want young people to try, learn and create on their own homeland. From there, technology is no longer something far away, but becomes a tool to preserve and promote local culture,” Mr. Binh shared.

Ngu Hanh Son Ward is also building a Startup Space for innovation and digital transformation. This space serves as a place for training sessions, seminars, startup product exhibitions, new technology introductions and connections between businesses, schools, artisans, etc.

Lighting the fire of technological knowledge

One of the typical faces in the Da Nang creative ecosystem is Vo Nguyen Dinh Tri, co-founder and CEO of Rebo Technology Joint Stock Company - a pioneering startup applying AI and 3D simulation to teaching innovation.

Rebo develops the NoraClass digital learning ecosystem, directly integrated into the education industry's LMS system, helping teachers prepare, teach, and assess students right in the digital environment, shaping the "smart classroom" model.

In 2025, Rebo was honored by the Institute of Innovation and Digital Transformation (VDTI) and the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA) at the SEI Awards 2025 in the category of "Educational Impact of the Year". Previously, in 2023, NoraClass also won the Outstanding Educational Initiative Award presented by the Ministry of Education and Training and the Central Youth Union.

Sharing about the innovation environment, Director Vo Nguyen Dinh Tri commented: “Da Nang has great potential to become a testing center (sandbox) for new technologies, but needs a more flexible mechanism for startups to test on real data and real users.

Sandboxes should be “policy learning spaces” – where businesses and governments try and learn together.

The Da Nang government has laid a good foundation for the startup ecosystem: from disseminating policies to organizing playgrounds such as SURF - Startup and Innovation Festival, activities of the Danang Innovation Support Center (Startup Danang), DNES Incubator or incubation programs, connecting investment funds.

Not only stopping at urban management or startups, the spirit of innovation also spreads into the medical field.

At Da Nang Hospital, the Da Nang Center for Research and Training in Microchip Design and Artificial Intelligence (DSAC) collaborated with expert Marteen Nguyen, CEO of Okineo Consulting, who participated in projects at Stanford Health Care and UCSF Health, to share about AI applications in diagnosis, treatment and hospital management.

This is an opportunity for Da Nang Hospital to access advanced technology, moving towards a smarter, safer and more effective healthcare model, an important component in the knowledge-based urban area that the city is building...

Source: https://baodanang.vn/xay-dung-do-thi-tri-thuc-sang-tao-va-dang-song-3310262.html