Da Nang Newspaper recorded the opinions of experts on the fields and directions that the city needs to focus on in the coming time to accelerate Da Nang's development.

Opinion of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Vu, President of the University of Danang (UD): Training human resources for the semiconductor industry in the spirit of "breakthrough of breakthroughs"

In the context of globalization, the government has been seizing great opportunities to participate in the global semiconductor value chain, including the goal of training 50,000 - 100,000 semiconductor engineers according to the on-the-building project "Developing human resources for the semiconductor industry by 2030, with a vision to 2045". To achieve the above goal, relevant parties must be very proactive, especially universities.

The government needs to soon approve this project, especially prioritizing the allocation of resources, and at the same time have a specific mechanism for investment and procurement in the spirit of "breakthrough of breakthroughs" to successfully implement the project. The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) needs to have a specific mechanism for training semiconductor chip human resources, especially the calculation of quotas and suitable teaching staff (who are having relevant disciplines) as this is a new profession and needs to have a solution to control training quality.

Therefore, in the near future, priority should be given to assigning tasks to large universities with a tradition of training in technology and engineering, with potential in terms of teaching staff and good quality of incoming students. The MOET needs to have a mechanism to promote, facilitate and encourage close connections between universities and local authorities and high schools to improve the quality of interdisciplinary STEM education and foreign languages ​​for high school students, which is a very important premise in training this key industry.

Ministries and sectors need to coordinate to help remove current difficulties and obstacles in international cooperation to create more favorable conditions for universities to receive funding and support from international partners; attract good scientists and experts to return to the country to participate in teaching and research to create more resources for universities to develop and integrate internationally.

Finally, the MOET needs to thoroughly implement Conclusion No. 91-KL/TW dated August 12, 2024 of the Politburo on implementing fundamental and comprehensive innovation in education and training, which clearly states "building breakthrough mechanisms and policies and investing appropriate resources to develop national universities, regional universities... to play a core role in training and scientific research"; continue to support the policy of developing the UD into a national university.

As for Da Nang, it can be said that the city has advantages that not every locality in the region has: a system of large universities in the area, with good traditions and training quality, the core of which is the UD. The city has over 100,000 students, an average of about 800 students/10,000 people (4 times the national average); a team of highly qualified scientists with over 1,000 professors, associate professors, and doctors. This is a favorable condition for Da Nang to become a center for startups and innovation, a center for training semiconductor technology human resources according to the policies of the Party, the National Assembly, and the Government.

Mr. Tran Ngoc Chinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association: Modern and rapidly developing urban area

Da Nang is praised by friends, people across the country and the world as a livable city because it is a youthful, modern and beautiful city. Da Nang people are very friendly, hospitable, love nature; foreigners really like Da Nang. Scientists, experts, managers, architects of Japanese and Korean urban planning associations... are very impressed with Da Nang because of its beautiful landscape and environment, fairly synchronously developed infrastructure, friendly people, clear and clean sea, especially the entire landscape of the Han River, both banks and the bridges across the river are very admired...

In the process of building and developing Da Nang city, planning work has always been at the forefront, one step ahead and increasingly plays a very important role in the development career. The Central Government has paid great attention to helping Da Nang have good planning, from which there are many development projects suitable for the development of the city as well as the country and building Da Nang to be worthy of being the pioneer city of the Central Highlands region, one of the growth poles of the country. Our country only has export processing zones, high-tech zones..., but Da Nang will be the first city to implement the free trade zone in the country because the Central Government has seen the development potential of Da Nang and the connectivity between the city and the sea, islands, regions and the country.

The construction of the Da Nang Free Trade Zone is not only related to the fields of logistics, services, trade, finance, etc., but also the system of seaports, airports, railways, etc. Da Nang has all the fields and systems to build a free trade zone. Choosing Da Nang to pilot the construction of a free trade zone is a great concern of the Party, the National Assembly and the Government so that Da Nang has the conditions to develop very quickly.

Dr. Andreas Baumgartner, General Director and Founder of The Metis Institute (Dubai, United Arab Emirates - UAE): Promoting Da Nang's development by building a financial center

I believe that Vietnam is seizing the opportunity to affirm its position in building financial centers, not only in the Southeast Asian region but also globally. I am very excited about building a financial center in Ho Chi Minh City with an international orientation and Da Nang as a regional financial center, focusing on innovation and financial technology (fintech). I think this combination is an opportunity to create a strong momentum that will have a big impact on the future of Vietnam. When we look at financial models around the world, what we can learn from successful models is that they are all based on a clear, stable and predictable legal framework. This legal framework needs to be reliable, not constantly changing. The second factor is that fintech is changing the entire financial industry.

If Da Nang can position itself as a leading center in the fintech field, dare to explore new approaches, dare to think differently, dare to try new things, it can create a big impact, for example, the ADGM Financial Center in Abu Dhabi, UAE. To be successful, it is necessary to attract global talents, not only those who work directly but also their families to live and settle down. Therefore, locating financial centers in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, two cities that are developing strongly and have a lot of potential, is a great decision. This will attract talent to Vietnam to work and enjoy life here.

Mr. Ali Ijaz Ahmad, Chairman of Makara Capital Group (Singapore): Need to have a vision to become the "Silicon Valley of Asia"

Over the past 10 years, Da Nang has implemented a systematic master plan, focusing on building infrastructure. I think now is the right time to move to the next stage of development, focusing on innovation. Da Nang has a favorable geographical location, and the quality of human resources is increasingly improving. To attract foreign direct investment (FDI), I think Da Nang needs to have a vision of becoming the “Silicon Valley of Asia”. To achieve that and attract capital from large organizations, Da Nang needs to build a solid legal framework, protect intellectual property rights and ensure flexible capital sources. Da Nang also needs to build a clear policy framework for the regional international financial center to reassure investors.

Regarding future directions, we will continue to coordinate with the city government to implement the memorandums of understanding in the past: the City People's Committee and Makara Capital Investment Fund; the tripartite cooperation agreement between the Department of Science and Technology, Makara Capital Partners and the Consortium of Investors in Vietnam on cooperation and investment support in startups and innovation in Da Nang city. Specifically, we will send our leading experts to Da Nang to support the city in realizing the regional financial center project, and at the same time commit to investing in the field of startups and innovation in the city. We are very willing to support the city with consulting with a global team of personnel who have experience implementing many financial centers around the world.

Mr. Huynh Nam Thang, General Director of Sun Group Central Region: Encouraging social resources for investment and development

Entering 2025, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Da Nang City, we expect and believe that the city will have many breakthrough achievements in the era of rising up and making a memorable mark for half a decade of development, especially with tourism, the spearhead economic sector of Da Nang.

​For tourism in particular and Da Nang's economy in general to develop strongly and further in 2025 and the following years, the city needs to promote the construction of a fireworks complex project to create a "fireworks ecosystem" for Da Nang. In the immediate future, the city needs to prioritize the construction of a square or stage, a large-scale fireworks stand so that the Da Nang International Fireworks Festival (DIFF) can become a four-season festival of Da Nang, becoming an international fireworks destination. The city considers issuing incentive mechanisms and policies to encourage socialized resources to invest in cultural tourism products, facilitate administrative procedures, and support domestic and international media promotion.

The city needs to strengthen and innovate tourism promotion activities in the direction of focusing on new potential international markets of Da Nang, creating conditions for local tourism businesses to participate. The city needs to promote the development of the night economy, gradually creating "capitals" of night tourism in Da Nang to increase the experience for tourists, contributing to improving the competitiveness of Da Nang tourism in the new era.