The RMIT Vietnam Strategic Innovation Challenge is a vehicle through which we invest in Vietnam and the region with funds generated by RMIT University Vietnam.
A major initiative funded by RMIT Vietnam’s $250m strategic investment fund, the RMIT Vietnam Strategic Innovation Challenge supports new ideas and initiatives that will make a genuine impact on the communities in which we operate, by contributing to the economic and social prosperity of Vietnam.
This will take the form of a series of rolling challenges from 2023 onwards through which RMIT staff will be invited to pitch innovative funding proposals for creative and collaborative initiatives to achieve our strategic goals. These projects will reflect our Vietnam Country Commitment.
Supported by the Hanoi Industry and Innovation Hub, the Challenge will enable projects that demonstrate how RMIT leads in the four key areas of emerging technologies, smart and sustainable cities, social innovation and regional collaboration.
19 projects have been supported with funding in the first round of the RMIT Vietnam Strategic Innovation Challenge.
The purpose of the RMIT Vietnam Asia-Pacific Smart and Sustainable Cities Research Hub (The Cities Hub) is to lead, coordinate and support RMIT capability in smart and sustainable cities in RMIT Vietnam and connect with RMIT Melbourne and RMIT Europe, with projects focusing on Vietnam and the Asia-Pacific region. Over 2024-2025, the project will deploy RMIT smart and sustainable cities capability on collaborative research, training and engagement to achieve impact for Vietnam and the Asia-Pacific, both within RMIT and with external stakeholders, across government, private firms, international agencies and partner universities in the region.
Contact: Professor Andrew Butt (link leads to the RMIT Australia website)
The project will develop and deploy an AI-integrated e-learning platform for Gastrointestinal endoscopy training, aimed at improving skills and knowledge of endoscopists therefore increasing detection rate of gastrointestinal tract cancer.
Contact: Dr. Thuy Nguyen
Prioritising a patient-first approach, this project develops an AI-driven technology to enhance the state of cardiovascular diagnosis, starting ECG-data interpretation, to specialist consultations, and disease management through educational resources.
Contact: Associate Professor Minh Ngoc Dinh
This initiative aims to transform the medical documentation process and patient education with emerging Large Language Model (LLM) and Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) technology in Vietnamese healthcare settings. Our vision is to optimise healthcare workflows, enhance medical documentation quality, develop AI-powered healthcare chatbots and increase patients’ adherence to medication and healthy behaviors-, thereby reducing stress and burnout among healthcare professionals.
Contact: Dr. Arthur Tang
This transdisciplinary collaboration between RMIT Vietnam and RMIT Australia staff, students and Vietnam business stakeholders aims to demonstrate the innovative power of Creative Practice methodologies for business transition in the face of water-level rises and habitat loss, due to climate emergency.
Contact: Associate Professor Jessica Wilkinson (link leads to the RMIT Australia website)
RMIT Vietnam aims to support the Vietnamese government’s commitment towards net zero by 2060 by piloting the use of renewable power on campus. In collaboration with RMIT Vietnam Property Services, this Innovation bid seeks to optimisze the use of green energy on campus. This will be achieved with the installation of up to 500m2 of solar panels on the roof sections of campus properties.
Contact: Dr. Kok Seng Kiong
The CyberSEA initiative will be piloted over 2024, it is a project that aims to position RMIT Vietnam as a leading hub for cybersecurity innovation in Southeast Asia. It supports RMIT Vietnam in the areas of emerging technologies and regional collaboration. The project will deliver research collaborations, technology transfer, incubation support for startups, and educational initiatives to develop a skilled cybersecurity workforce. It will occur at RMIT Vietnam and involve partnerships with institutions in Australia and Southeast Asia.
Contact: Mr Laki Kondylas (link leads to the RMIT Australia website)
The proposed project enhances RMIT Vietnam's social innovation by providing a benchmarking tool that enables the public to monitor the disclosure index and evaluate sustainable procurement practices, aligning with the Vietnamese Prime Minister's commitment to a Net Zero carbon emission target by 2050. This innovative tool captures knowledge and expertise to support companies (public and private) in fulfilling their corporate social responsibilities.
Contact: Dr. Hung Nguyen (link leads to the RMIT Australia website)
The project aims to build a cloud-based crowdsourcing platform to facilitate the sharing and contribution toward social innovation for challenges and issues in Vietnam’s digital landscape. The RMIT Open Innovation Platform (ROIP) contributes to social innovation by connecting organisations, businesses, government agencies, and communities to generate solutions for complex problems they encounter. The main goal of ROIP is to foster creativity, harness the power of the community to identify potential solutions and promote sustainable development in various fields.
Contact: Dr. Nguyen Hoang Thuan
This project will develop an analytical system to address sustainability challenges in agricultural practices resulting in yield gaps, soil degradation, disease risks, and increased climate change impacts in Vietnam's Mekong Delta region. The Smart Agri-Aquaculture Monitoring and Analytics (SAAMA) system leverages emerging technologies like the Internet of Things, cloud computing, geospatial data, and statistical modeling to integrate critical farming information.
Contact: Associate Professor Hiep Pham
This project aims to revitalise Vietnam's ethnic fashion heritage by integrating it with sustainable urban practices, thus enriching the country's fashion ecosystem through platforms of documentation and engagement. The initiative is poised to deliver substantial benefits: cultural preservation, advancement in sustainable fashion education, and bolstering the local fashion industry.
Contact: Associate Professor Donna Cleveland
The SPARK Hub is an exciting collaboration between RMIT Vietnam, Reactor Group and The Sentry. It serves as an off-campus space at The Sentry P, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City. This innovative hub aims to foster entrepreneurship and innovation, aligning with Vietnam's goal of expanding its digital workforce and businesses by 2030. The SPARK Hub functions as a platform for regional collaboration, bringing together RMIT students, alumni, staff, industry experts, and entrepreneurs.
Contact: Dr Justin Xavier
This project will utilise a digital learning platform to enhance students’ skills and understandings of AI in the creative industries. The project targets the urgent need to build critical understandings of AI in higher education and the creative fields. It aligns with RMIT’s ‘social innovation’ and ‘emerging technologies’ focus areas by prioritising ethical concerns surrounding AI and its impact on education and work futures.
Contact: Dr David Rousell (link leads to the RMIT Australia website)
This project seeks to integrate LEGO Serious Play (LSP) and i5 Impact pedagogy to champion the awareness, creation and adoption of fun and engaging learning via gamification in higher education. In the spirit of fun playing for learning, LEGO can be used as it is a more cost-effective and adaptive tool for active and collaborative learning. This project also seeks to support institutions for effective adoption of gamified learning.
Contact: Associate Professor Elaine Chew (link leads to the RMIT Australia website)
This project aims to implement a comprehensive learning analytics platform providing data-driven insights to advance student success and institutional improvement. The tool includes student-facing dashboards about individual progress, empowering learners. For administrators and instructors, rich analytics and visualizations give visibility into course effectiveness, resource allocation, and opportunities to strengthen offerings.
Contact: Nick McIntosh
The project aims to raise an individual’s critical thinking skills through the use of an AI companion and coach. RMIT Vietnam stands to benefit from this project through the use of an emerging technology (AI) and the goal of uplifting decision-making skills through critical reasoning, something that the market in Vietnam currently lacks.
Contact: Mr. Haico Kuut
The myGrad app serves as an efficient and sustainable solution for managing and delivering the significant graduation ceremony at RMIT. It aligns with RMIT's focus on emerging technologies, smart cities, and sustainability by promoting digital transformation, paperless processes, resource optimisation, real-time communication and integration with smart infrastructure. Dedicated to enhancing the student experience, promoting sustainable development, and showcasing technological innovation, myGrad reinforces RMIT's international reputation and contributes to sustainable development in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
Contact: Hanh Bui
This project will develop a prototype product called EcoClump which is an organic clumping agent made from dragon fruit peels that will be used in combination with chemical clumping agents in the wastewater treatment at textile factories. This would lessen the amount of chemicals used and could potentially provide the textile factories with cost savings. The project team will also test EcoClump at selected textile companies providing data on the efficacy of the product as well as feedback from the textile companies’ representatives on the quality of the product and challenges/potential for product adoption.
Contact: Nhan Nguyen
This project sets forth the implementation of modular classroom furniture to create active learning environments that have been shown to have a positive impact on the learner experience. Such furniture will enable the instructorinstructor to have greater flexibility with classroom configuration and capabilities to dynamically change the layout. This will facilitate multiple room settings during a single session allowing the instructor to tailor the physical environment to individual tasks. This flexibility and dynamism extends to the learners where they are also able to have greater agency in the creation of their own learning space.
Contact: Dr. Kok Seng Kiong
This country commitment explains the actions RMIT Vietnam will take for the years ahead to fulfil our promises and societal responsibilities.
Find out more about our history, strategy, values and commitments.
RMIT Vietnam works with our research partners to develop and apply knowledge, in order to shape a better world.