The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology held a ceremony on September 30 afternoon at the HCMC Startup Innovation Center (SIHUB) to announce the launch of the HCMC Innovation and Startup Award 2026 (I-Star 2026) and a logo design competition for the "HCMC Entrepreneurial University" brand.
The hybrid in-person and online event was organized to mark National Innovation Day 2026.
Speaking at the ceremony, Vice Chairman of the HCMC People's Committee and Chairman of the Executive Agency of the Vietnam International Financial Center in HCMC (VIFC-HCMC) Truong Minh Huy Vu emphasized that HCMC considers science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation as core development drivers. The city continues to build an open and connected startup ecosystem with strong resource sharing among the State, universities, enterprises, and international partners.
According to Vice Chairman of the HCMC People's Committee Truong Minh Huy Vu, innovation is not just a story for startups but is created by multiple stakeholders. City leaders are interested not only in the quantity of new ideas, but in how many solutions are practically applied to generate value for residents and enterprises.
This process needs to go deep to the ward and commune levels where urban management, environmental, healthcare, educational, and public service problems directly arise. Correctly identifying issues from the grassroots and testing solutions directly in practice will turn innovation into an effective work-solving method to improve quality of life.
The event also marked a new advance in the "Entrepreneurial University" model—a backbone shaped by quality through model frameworks from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (VNU-HCM), the University of Economics HCMC (UEH), and others. In particular, the city's ecosystem welcomed additional wings from global startup accelerator network Plug and Play.
This is a substantive result from the close "Triple Helix" collaboration model (University - Supporting Unit SIHUB - State) achieved through persistent "technology diplomacy" efforts by the Consulate General of Vietnam in San Francisco, United States.
The city expects this year's I-Star 2026 to continue breaking ground and focus on seeking outstanding projects and investing in human factors, Truong Minh Huy Vu highlighted.
Earlier, the HCMC Department of Science and Technology launched the I-Star 2026. Held biennially, the award honors exemplary individuals, organizations, enterprises, and media works. The 2026 structure comprises a maximum of 12 equal prizes across four categories, with each prize worth VND32 million (US$1.231) from the state budget.
The council will select up to 10 outstanding applications per category for the final round, with registration open until 5 p.m. on October 31, 2026. Concurrently, the logo design competition for the "HCMC Entrepreneurial University" brand is open from September 30 to November 30, 2026.
Another major highlight of the event was the strategic cooperation signing ceremony between Plug and Play Singapore (a global innovation ecosystem, startup accelerator program, and venture capital fund), University of Economics HCMC, and SIHUB to boost global network integration, develop human resources, and deploy an AI Center of Excellence (AI COE) in HCMC. The AI COE will operate on three pillars such as AI training, startup acceleration, and proof of concept (PoC) solution testing.
Following the signing, the parties will finalize detailed plans within 30 days to launch in time for the Summit in November 2026 in Silicon Valley, United States. This partnership helps connect to global networks, elevating Vietnamese AI technology to international reach.
On this occasion, the Department of Science and Technology also handed over the decision recognizing SIHUB as a provincial-level startup support center, and organized in-depth panel discussions connecting institutes, universities, and businesses with local authorities.
