The two technology schools cooperate to incubate 5-10 businesses each year

According to the agreement dated March 17, Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology (PTIT) and High Technology and Innovation Park – Hanoi National University plan to incubate 5-10 businesses each year. Spin-off is a business formed from a research project or technology product in a school laboratory. Unlike startups that can start from a market idea, this model is often based on available technology, developed by lecturers or students, then separated for commercialization.

The two units said they will coordinate from the research and incubation stages to transferring and bringing products to market. The two sides also built a network of connections between establishments, experts and investors to support startup groups in accessing capital and perfecting their business models.

The highlight of the cooperation lies in connecting two ecosystems with different strengths. PTIT is an in-depth training and research facility in information technology, telecommunications and digital technology. Meanwhile, Hanoi National University has a multidisciplinary research network and innovation centers. The combination aims to shorten the lab-to-market gap, which is a common bottleneck for many university technology projects.

In fact, at PTIT, the source of startup projects in the school mainly comes from research topics of lecturers and students. The school’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (IEC) is currently an incubation focal point, connecting research groups with businesses and investment funds.

According to Dr. Do Trung Anh, Director of IEC, most startup projects at PTIT are formed from scientific research projects or technology training programs. The center supports teams in perfecting products, developing business models and gradually commercializing technology.

In the past 5 months, through the P-Innovation product search program, the center has incubated 31 student startup ideas, developing them into business models in many technology fields. Some projects have completed products and begun market testing. At the same time, 5 technology projects from lecturers’ research are also being supported to move towards commercialization.

The fact that universities are more deeply involved in technology business incubation is also consistent with the general trend. According to the Government’s program “Supporting students and start-ups in the period 2026-2035”, each year at least 40 projects of lecturers and students are supported, expected to increase to 70 projects in the period after 2030.

In that context, connecting universities with incubators and innovation support organizations is expected to help technology projects overcome the gap from the laboratory to the market.

At a meeting with PTIT at the end of May 2025, Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung said that to increase the ability to commercialize research results, the Academy needs to pay more attention to research based on market requirements, prioritizing topics with accompanying businesses because those can be the most practical research. In addition, he suggested learning from foreign models is to strengthen the team in charge of commercialization – those who help connect researchers and the market.

For startups incubated in the academy, with dreams of reaching the world but facing capital difficulties, the Minister said there will be mechanisms to form venture capital funds for startups and the amount of money poured into this segment will increase sharply. However, from the successful examples of Vietnamese businesses reaching out to the world, he also advises projects not to be afraid of difficulties, because “one of the great assets they have is hunger.”