Institute of Smart City & Management (ISCM) 2025 - The Symphony of Future Cities
01 Feb, 2026
The year 2025 marks a significant milestone in Vietnam’s urban development journey, as demands for digital transformation, climate change adaptation, and improved urban quality of life have become increasingly urgent. In this context, education, research, and community engagement can no longer be treated as separate pillars; instead, they must be integrated within a unified platform to co-create smart and sustainable urban solutions.
For the Institute of Smart City & Management (ISCM), 2025 is not only a year of continued progress in education, research, academic cooperation, and community contribution, but also a milestone commemorating its 5th anniversary. Reflecting on this journey, ISCM embraces the theme “The Symphony of Future Cities” as a metaphor for shaping smart cities where knowledge, technology, design, governance, and people come together in harmony, creating urban solutions rooted in local realities while aligned with global contexts.
Education: The key musical note of urban development
ISCM identifies education as the long-term foundation for building smart and sustainable cities, aiming to cultivate human resources with systems thinking, interdisciplinary competencies, and a strong sense of social responsibility. The year 2025 marks an important transition, as the Institute both strengthened its well-established programs and completed the development of new ones, contributing to UEH’s strategic orientation toward multidisciplinary growth.
At undergraduate and postgraduate levels, ISCM’s training programs continued to affirm their quality in architecture and urban design fields, ranging from Architectural and Urban Design for Inclusive Smart City (Bachelor’s and Architect programs), Smart Mobility & Operations Management, to Smart and Creative Urban Management, along with other interdisciplinary programs under development. In parallel, dual degree, exchange, and joint training programs with international partners in New Zealand (University of Auckland), South Korea, and Belgium have helped complete an integrated education pathway, linking governance, design, and strategic thinking in sustainable urban development.
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Research: Harmonizing knowledge for sustainable cities
ISCM considers scientific research the core foundation for generating new knowledge, contributing to the academic community, and supporting sustainable urban development. In 2025, the Institute’s research activities expanded in both academic depth and practical relevance, with numerous publications in ISI/Scopus-indexed journals (Q1–Q2) focusing on topics such as smart and sustainable urban design, transport infrastructure and accessibility, traffic safety and education, sustainable tourism, infrastructure asset management, and the application of artificial intelligence and digital technologies in urban planning and management.
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Alongside international publications, ISCM strengthened applied research in Viet Nam through initiatives in smart city development, living labs, digital economy studies, traffic flow forecasting, open data integration between housing and transport infrastructure, AI-based assessment of infrastructure deterioration, and terrain–hydrological analysis supporting infrastructure development in the Mekong Delta. A major highlight of the year was the international conference “Ocean Futures: Smart Technologies and Sustainable Coastal Living” held in Khanh Hoa Province, which brought together more than 100 domestic and international scholars and experts, fostering academic dialogue and opening new research collaboration pathways aligned with sustainable development in the South Central Coast region.
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The Ocean Futures 2025 Conference in Khanh Hoa: Smart Technologies and Sustainable Coastal Living
Community engagement: Bringing knowledge into practice
In 2025, ISCM continued to reaffirm its role in connecting knowledge with communities through practical collaboration activities. In April 2025, ISCM and UEH welcomed a high-level delegation from the Kingdom of Belgium and co-organized the forum “Vietnam - Belgium Cooperation: Enhancing Road Safety through Education and Applied Research”, with the participation of more than 20 representatives from government agencies, educational institutions, and international experts. The event focused on sharing experiences, data, and approaches in road safety research and training, thereby promoting bilateral cooperation and applied research directions suited to the Vietnamese context.
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The Belgian delegation taking a commemorative photo with UEH and ISCM leaders
Continuing the spirit of knowledge dissemination, the 4th International Design Competition Award Ceremony: Announcing Sustainable Development Ideas from the Flow of the Cai River, Khanh Hoa, took place from March to September 2025, featuring a series of exhibitions and an award ceremony in Khanh Hoa. With the support of the Khanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee, more than 15 domestic and international educational institutions and enterprises, and the participation and sponsorship of businesses, media, and press agencies, the competition attracted over 500 contestants across 160 teams from 25 countries. Centered on the theme of sustainable economic and cultural development linked to the Cai River urban landscape, the competition generated innovative solutions connecting cities, nature, and heritage, contributing to improved community quality of life and shaping scenarios for smart and sustainable urban development.
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Teams at the award ceremony of the 4th International Design Competition (IDC)
ISCM at 5 Years: One Journey, Many Voices
The year 2025 concludes ISCM’s first five years of formation and development - a journey that has gradually shaped the Institute’s identity as an interdisciplinary research and education unit, connecting knowledge with urban practice and sustainable development. Under the theme “The Symphony of Future Cities,” the year’s activities unfolded as diverse yet harmonious “voices,” spanning education, research, academic dialogue, and international cooperation, with the participation of students, scholars, and domestic and international partners.
Entering 2026, ISCM will continue to compose its symphony through education and applied research, contributing to the implementation of UEH’s strategic orientations as a long-term commitment to accompany UEH in creating knowledge and contributing to the sustainable development of cities and communities.
New, photos: Institute of Smart City & Management (ISCM)
