“Innovation and Advancement in Business in 2022” International Conference

On May 12, the Faculty of International Business – Marketing, UEH Business School (COB) collaborated with NCKU Overseas Hub in Vietnam to organize an international conference with “Innovation and Breakthrough in Business in 2022” Theme in online form. The conference has attracted the attention of a great number of lecturers, students, entrepreneurs and businesses.

“Innovation and Advancement in Business in 2022” International Conference was attended by speakers as follows: Prof. Volker Nitsch – Faculty of International Economics, Technical University of Darmstadt (TUDa), Germany; Prof. Yu-Yu Chang – Faculty of International Management, National Success University, Taiwan and Dr. Do Thi Hai Ninh – Faculty of International Business-Marketing, UEH School of Business (COB).

On behalf of UEH, there were: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Thanh Trang – Vice President of COB-UEH, Dean of Faculty of International Business-Marketing; Dr. Nguyen Thi Hong Thu – Vice Dean of Faculty of International Business-Marketing; Dr. Hoang Cuu Long – Vice Dean of Faculty of International Business-Marketing together with UEH lecturers and students.

Speaking at the Conference, Dr. Minh Hien – Director of NCKU Overseas Hub in Vietnam – emphasized that the purpose of the conference is to update the latest knowledge and information as well as to share innovative and breakthrough methods applied in business in Germany, Taiwan and Vietnam. With its practical and important nature, this Conference has attracted the attention of diverse lecturers, PhD students, students, entrepreneurs and businesses.

Speaking at the Opening ceremony, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Thanh Trang – Vice President of COB-UEH – shared: “The COVID-19 pandemic has created various challenges for businesses. Facing these challenges, all businesses need to change their business methods to survive and develop in the market. Therefore, digital technology and innovation models will be a very important business aspect in the future as well as in the long run. As one of the leading Universities in Vietnam, UEH has always been committed to improving capacity and accompanying businesses. This is also the reason why UEH cooperated with NCKU Overseas Hub in Vietnam to organize the International Conference “Innovation and Breakthrough in Business in 2022” today. We would also like to thank the delegates for your taking the time to attend and I do believe that the Conference will bring effective and beneficial knowledge to all participants.”

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Thanh Trang giving the opening speech

Within the framework of the program, Prof. Volker Nitsch introduced the topic “Digital Business: Insights from Economics”. From his sharing, the current challenges in the world economy are: Disruption of value chains (Pandemic, War in Ukraine, National security); Lack of energy; Inflation and monetary policy. Facing those challenges, businesses need to reduce costs listed as: Search costs, Reproduction costs, Transportation costs, Tracking costs and Digital verification costs. In the presentation, Prof. Nitsch has focused on Search Costs, Company Organization and Shipping Costs. The professor brought up the case of eBay as proof of eCommerce and digital transformation. The case studies show that the rapid development of the Internet, leading to a reduction in the cost of information communication, makes distance less impact on business operations.

Prof. Volker Nitsch with his presentation

The following part is Dr. Do Thi Hai Ninh’ presentation with “Understanding Vietnam’s Innovation Ecosystem: Systematic Evaluation” topic. According to Dr. Hai Ninh, innovation has different interpretations; in this research, innovation is understood as the introduction and the application of new products, technologies, business processes, models and business ideas on the markets as well as the invention of new ideas. Conceptual framework for performing analysis is through a systematic view of the innovation ecosystem in Vietnam. Accordingly, from 2011 to 2021, science, technology and innovation play an increasingly important role in Vietnamese socio-economic development. As COVID-19 causes an economic shock that spreads globally and in Vietnam, the importance of innovation and technology adoption for business resilience and productivity growth has intensified. Dr. Hai Ninh has given specific figures in Vietnam as follows: Government’s annual expenditure on Science & Technology for the 2011-2015 period is approximately 1.7% of the national budget, equivalent to 0.4% GDP. The state is the largest funder of research in Vietnam, in which, most of the budget flows to the Government Research and Development Institutes. Total national expenditure on R&D (GERD) in 2016 is approximately 0.21% of GDP (with nearly 80.99% of that spending is under the public sector). Nevertheless, this is a lower rate than that of other neighboring countries and much lower than that of most developed countries. In the final part of the presentation, the recommendation from Dr. Hai Ninh is to re-establish a new strategy towards business innovation based on policy design and implementation, to strengthen institutional coordination and to transform innovation policy.

Dr. Do Thi Hai Ninh introducing “Understanding Vietnam’s innovation ecosystem: systematic assessment” topic

In his final speech, Prof. Yu-Yu Chang from NCKU presented “The Power of Users’ Innovation: Impacting the World in Uncertainty” Theme. The keynote focused on entrepreneurship and how creating new ventures can affect technology and how startups can change the competitive business landscape. Professor Chang began his speech with a case study of Nightscout – a medical device in continuous glucose besides mini Farmbot – the service to check air quality for people to discuss and try a new improvement. The professor stated that: from a great idea for a product, to a startup based on the idea, the allocation and various outside resources to realize the business idea is a long story. According to Professor, the users’ innovation model includes collaborative evaluation, replication, improvement and expansion. Prof. Chang does believe that all of us is able to make significant innovations despite all the challenges with no mutual trust and everyone is trying to maximize his/her own interests.

Prof. Yu-Yu Chang excitedly sharing “The Power of Users’ Innovation: Impacting the World in Uncertainty” topic

After the speakers’ presentations, the attendees asked questions and discussed issues listed as: Starting a new idea and its impact on the business? Experiences in transforming the media industry in Vietnam and solutions for small and medium enterprises when implementing innovation in business? Managing risk in innovation and business disruption? What factors influence innovation culture?

Speakers answering questions from attendees

The conference is successfully conducted with the overview of innovation and breakthrough in business. Besides, the attendance of a large number of guests through platforms listed as: 70 attendees via Cisco Webex, 700 followers on Facebook Livestream. The conference, not only in Vietnam, also attracted international audiences from 10 countries listed as: Taiwan, Malaysia, USA, Australia, Thailand, Korea, Germany, Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.

Distribution of conference followers by countries

Delegates and guests taking souvenir photos together

In terms of the strategy of becoming a multidisciplinary, sustainable and research-oriented University, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City has been constantly making practical contributions to society through organizing scientific seminars, scientific research, transferring and consulting scientific knowledge. It is expected that UEH, in the upcoming journey, will receive the companionship of all partners and businesses as well as the community to jointly spread knowledge values ​​to society with the purpose of contributing to sustainable development.

News, photos: Faculty of International Business – Marketing, UEH Department of Marketing – Communication