UEH coordinating with Ida C. & Morris Falk Foundation to organize a series of events “Developing a circular Economy in Universities”

Starting from June 16, 2022, UEH School of Technology and Design, Institute of Smart Cities and Management (ISCM) has collaborated with Ida C. & Morris Falk Foundation (ICM Falk Foundation) and institutional partners organized a series of events “Developing a circular economy in universities”.

In the recent years, the development of the circular economy has received more attention and been considered as an inevitable development trend in the world, contributing to economic growth while minimizing and minimizing negative impact on the environment. With the desire to share knowledge for both the community inside and outside UEH and to direct everyone towards taking actions for a sustainable future, UEH School of Technology and Design, Institute of Smart Cities and Management (ISCM) together with Ida C. & Morris Falk Foundation (ICM Falk Foundation) and other partners co-organized a 3-part series of events entitled “Developing a Circular Economy in Universities”. The event with the participation of representatives of schools and organizations in different fields focuses on exploiting ideas and topics in the context of building a circular economy to promote the implementation of the goal of the sustainable development as well as to connect projects, research and innovative solutions with the purpose of helping protect the environment besides to inspire and to spread awareness of the community in sustainable, responsible production and consumption.

Opening the program was a webinar activity called “Circular Economy and Innovation around Universities”, held on June 16, 2022 at ISCM Studiolab (at 232/6 Vo Thi Sau Street, District 3, HCMC) with the aim of bringing a diverse vision, sharing insights and practical advice from guests in building an ecosystem to promote innovation for the development of circular economy in Vietnam. In addition, how can universities, intermediaries and foundations contribute to the development and implementation of ideas related to environmental protection and treatment in the most effective way?

Overview of “Circular Economy and Innovation around Universities” webinar

Attending the webinar, on behalf of UEH, there were Dr. Bui Quang Hung - Vice Rector of UEH and Dr. Trinh Tu Anh - Director of UEH Institute of Smart Cities and Management. On behalf of the guest participation, there were Ms. Tiphaine Pham - Strategic Consultant ICM Falk Foundation; Mr. Nguyen Huu Nhan - Founder of Refill Here; Mr. Matthew McGarvey - Founder of Xylem Capital, Investment Director of PRIM Vietnam and Ms. Nguyen Bich Tram - Project Manager of WasteAid Fund in Vietnam.

In his welcome speech, Dr. Bui Quang Hung shared: “This is a very meaningful activity, helping to spread awareness to different audiences in the general transformation trend for the sustainable development of mankind. Currently, UEH is also implementing sustainable action programs and building a sustainable university development model with 5 pillars including: education, research, operation, governance and community. With the exchange and the sharing of many parties in diverse fields, it is hoped that this program will have more new and highly applicable sustainable development ideas with easily increasingly expanding scale, especially for the educational environment.”

Dr. Bui Quang Hung - Vice Principal of UEH gave a welcome speech

Ms. Tiphaine Pham and the guests shared further ideas and initiatives to start a business in the trend of circular economy development; effective ways of implementing new initiatives and emphasizing the role of universities as an important player in scientific and technological research activities, multi-stakeholder cooperation to deliver innovative ideas create and contribute to the development of domestic and international startup ecosystems.

Guest speakers sharing startup ideas and initiatives in the trend of circular economy development

Following this webinar on June 16, 2022, webinar number 2 “Training & Learning for a Circular Economy Transition” and webinar number 3 “Research & Academia in a Circular Economy Transition" will be implemented directly in August and September that concentrate on the issues related to the role and development opportunities of research and education in the circular economy in Vietnam.