OPENING REMARK OF THE PRESIDENT AT

THE SHTP 5TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2018

- Prof. Nguyễn Thiện Nhân, Politburo Member, Party Secretary of Hochiminh
City.
- Dr. Nguyễn Thành Phong, Member of the Party Central Committee, Chairman
of the People Committee of Hochiminh City.
- Distinguished Guests, Honored Speakers, Ladies and Gentlemen.
The annual international conference is one of the most important events of the
Saigon Hi-Tech Park, which aims to create opportunities for connecting and
cooperating among scientists, experts and enterprises domestically and
internationally in fields of science and technology, especially focusing on high
technology to support research, development and commercialization of products
with high technological content and added value, directly serving the development
of business, social, science and technology of Ho Chi Minh City in particular and
Vietnam in general.
The first conference was held in 2013 with the theme of "Promoting the
commercialization of high potential technologies" focusing on research and
development of microelectronics industry of Ho Chi Minh City. The second one was
held in 2014 with the theme "Advances in Biomedical Engineering through The
Applications of Semiconductor Technology" focusing on building and developing
the biomedical engineering sector in Ho Chi Minh City. The third conference was
held in 2015 with the theme "IoT Applications for Smart Cities and Life Quality"
focusing on the research and applications of IoT products for the project building
smart city. The fourth conference, "Technology Application and Nano Material",
was held in 2016 aiming to support Ho Chi Minh City in building and developing
the materials industry, especially the nanomaterials and new materials.
Over four conferences, Saigon Hi-Tech Park has gainned many achievements
in enhancing the investment promotion of domestic and foreign enterprises to Saigon
Hi-Tech Park with total investment up to hundreds of millions USD, establishing a
networking and cooperation among experts, scientists and research units in domestic
and international with various fields of study, including countries with advanced
scientific backgrounds such as USA, Japan, Korea. In addition, the annual meeting
of Saigon Hi-Tech Park has supported many Vietnamese enterprises to receive and
transfer technology from foreign enterprises, shorten the time for research,
development and commercialization of products, service in time for the economic
development of Ho Chi Minh City.
 Following the success from the previous conferences, this year's annual
conference concentrates on the topic "Robotics and Artificial Intelligence", which
are advanced and key technologies that can support Ho Chi Minh City in building
and developing the city's socio-economic in the industry 4.0 era, especially the
implementation of the project building Smart City 2018-2025, vision to 2030.
The conference will consist of one plenary session and three parallel sessions
with the main topics discussed as follows:
- Human – Robot Interaction in Industry 4.0;
- Robotics and AI Application for Smart City;
- Vietnam in the Era of Robotics and AI.
This conference, it is our great honor to welcome 21 Vietnamese and
international speakers who are the leading experts in the field of research and
application of Robotics and AI technology. We are pleased to introduce the six
keynote speakers in the plenary session, this morning, as Professor Pham Duc
Truong from University of Birmingham, UK; Professor Sheikh Iqbal Ahamed from
Marquette University, USA; Professor Lee Joo Ho, from Ritsumeikan University,
Japan; Professor Kim Min Jun, from Southern Methodist University, USA;
Professor Hiroshi Mamitsuka, from Kyoto University, Japan; and especially
Professor Ho Tu Bao has just returned to Vietnam after more than 25 years of
research and teaching in the field of artificial intelligence at the Institute of Advanced
Science and Technology of Japan (JAIST). In addition, the conference is also
honored to welcome the top leaders of Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces,
leaders of universities, research institutes and enterprises in and outside Saigon Hi-
Tech Park.
In addition, one of the highlights of this year's conference is the exhibition of
the latest achievements in research and application of robotics and AI in the world
and Vietnam from leading enterprises in researching and manufacturing robot in
Vietnam and the world. Through this conference and exhibition program, we expect
to have more investment projects in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence
into the Saigon Hi-Tech Park as well as open opportunities for R&D cooperation
between the universities, research institutes, and Vietnamese enterprises with
international partners.
Finally, on behalf of the organizer of the 5th annual international conference of
Saigon Hi-Tech Park, I sincerely thank the leaders, scientists, businesses and
delegates for participating in our conference. Thank you to the press, radio and
television reporters for coming to this conference.
Wish you good health, wish the conference a great success.