Investing in Vietnam's AI Future
ICTI and Vietnam National University (VNU) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a joint AI research program. The program will run for an initial period of three years and will focus on applied AI research — specifically, AI applications in retail operations, natural language processing for Vietnamese, and AI-assisted software development tools.
This partnership has been in development for over a year, growing out of informal conversations between ICTI engineers and VNU faculty at various tech events in Hanoi. What began as a discussion about potential internship placements has evolved into a structured research collaboration that we believe has the potential to produce genuinely valuable outcomes — not just for ICTI and VNU, but for Vietnam's broader AI ecosystem.
Program Structure
- Research lab — a dedicated lab within VNU's School of Information and Communication Technology, funded jointly by ICTI and VNU, staffed by VNU researchers and ICTI engineers
- Graduate scholarships — ICTI will fund 5 master's degree scholarships per year for students pursuing AI and machine learning research within the joint program
- Internship pipeline — all research students in the program will have access to a structured internship pathway at ICTI, with the goal of converting strong performers to full-time positions
- Annual AI symposium — an annual public symposium presenting research findings from the joint program, open to the broader Vietnam tech community
We believe that the best way for a technology company to contribute to its home ecosystem is not through corporate social responsibility programs, but through real collaboration that creates shared value. This partnership is our most significant investment yet in Vietnam's AI future, and we intend to make it count.