UEH Institute of Innovation Awarded Prime Minister's Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Achievements in Promoting the National Startup and Innovation Ecosystem (2017–2025)
22 Apr, 2025
On April 20, 2025, at the opening ceremony of the National Startup Day for students and pupils for the seventh time, the UEH Institute of Innovation (UII) under the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) was honored to receive a Certificate of Merit from Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, recognizing its outstanding contributions to supporting students in starting their own businesses, thereby contributing to the promotion of the national innovative startup ecosystem during the period of 2017–2025.
This is an important achievement, marking the relentless efforts of UEH in developing entrepreneurial capabilities for learners, while also spreading the spirit of innovation to the community through training programs, competitions, incubation activities, and market connections. The Institute of Innovation is one of three units nationwide to be honored on this occasion, affirming UEH's pioneering role in implementing the Government's Project 1665 on supporting students in starting their own businesses.
The UEh Innovation Institute (UII) was honored to receive a Certificate of Merit from Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh for outstanding achievements in supporting students in starting their own businesses at the Opening Ceremony of the VII National Startup Day for students (Photo: Thanh Hung)
In addition, UEH's student project named “ROOTED” also received the Encouragement Award in the College and University Student Sector for social impact business at the Closing Ceremony of the event. This project integrates AI technology with nature, providing a smart solution for identifying crops, diagnosing plant diseases, and offering care suggestions from experts. At the same time, it builds a community for those who love a green lifestyle, contributing to raising environmental awareness and promoting a generation that lives harmoniously with nature.
The UEH student project received the Encouragement Award in the College and University Student Sector for social impact business
With the mission of spreading knowledge and comprehensive educational values, UEH continually innovates in training, research, and community service to enhance educational quality and make a positive contribution to society. UEH has been building a co-creative ecosystem between universities, businesses, communities, and the government to implement applied research projects, incubate creative startups, and develop high-quality human resources to meet regional and national development needs. In this, the Innovation Institute plays a pivotal role in connecting UEH units, students and alumni of UEH, innovative startup businesses, international partners, investment funds, investors, and localities to jointly develop innovative solutions and potential startup ideas. The innovation and startup activities are not limited to students but have also expanded to junior high and high school students, Vietnamese startups, and the Southeast Asian region through training programs, startup competitions, UEH Biztech Hackathon, Sandbox, and incubation and acceleration programs.
Since its establishment in 2019, the Innovation Institute has gradually affirmed its pioneering role in Vietnam's innovation ecosystem. From 2019 to 2025, the Institute has organized over 400 diverse scale events such as seminars, discussions, training courses, hackathons, and exhibitions, attracting the participation of thousands of students, lecturers, and businesses both domestically and internationally. The Institute has successfully incubated more than 150 student startup projects, of which at least 20 projects have grown into official businesses. Through its incubation, acceleration, and investment connection programs, the Institute has helped student projects raise capital and receive funding totaling over 700,000 USD. Specifically, from 2018 to 2024, more than 60 student projects participated in the incubation program, with many projects achieving stable revenues and receiving angel investment. In addition to incubation activities, the Institute has also built a large startup and innovation community with over 6,000 members, forming a cooperation network with more than 50 domestic partners and over 20 international partners. The Institute's Demo Days regularly attract nearly 60 prestigious investment funds and angel investors such as Earth Venture Capital, Ascend Ventures, KKFund, VIISA, ThinkZone, DO Ventures, and ITI Fund.
Diverse activities and events (Biztech Hackathon, Demo Day, Finnovation Bootcamp, etc.) organized by UII to incubate and support students in starting their businesses.
The UEH Institute of Innovation is a pioneering unit in recruiting and training two new undergraduate programs in Technology and Innovation, as well as Financial Technology. At the same time, the Institute also organizes many short-term and in-depth programs aimed at enhancing the innovation capabilities of students, faculty, and businesses, with training content focusing on areas such as design thinking, innovation management, product commercialization, fintech, and digital transformation in education. Research topics at various levels on innovation are being strongly implemented to contribute to disseminating knowledge, including the implementation of the National Research on the Youth Startup Ecosystem in Vietnam, and the Digital Skills for Success - Digital Startup project.
UII organizes innovative activities for university students participating in the Summer Camp at UEH Mekong
UEH hosts the National Planning Conference for the Digital Skills for Success 2025 Project
UEH collaborates with Youth Co:Lab Vietnam to implement the report "National Research on the Youth Startup Ecosystem" contributing to the comprehensive development of the startup capabilities of Vietnamese youth
With continuous efforts, the Institute of Innovation at UEH has been awarded many labor awards such as "Advanced Labor Collective," "Outstanding Labor Collective," and the "Unit of the Year" title recognized by the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City. The Institute is also honored to receive the I-Star Award from Ho Chi Minh City in 2021 and was voted one of the Top 10 outstanding university incubators in Asia according to the AsiaStar 10x10 Launchpad in 2022. This prestigious achievement granted by the Prime Minister continues to be a clear testament to the notable contributions of the Institute of Innovation as well as UEH in supporting students' entrepreneurship - affirming its position as one of the exemplary organizations that positively contribute to the national startup and innovation ecosystem.
Pillars: Training, Community
Project: UEH Connecting
News, photos: UEH Institute of Innovation, Department of Communications and Partnerships
