The third international workshop on nano-technology was held recently in Vung Tau City, with the attendance of over 300 delegates from 22 countries.
The third international workshop on nano-technology was held recently in Vung Tau City, with the attendance of over 300 delegates from 22 countries.
Eric Fribourg-Blanc, representative of MINATEC in Vietnam, talks about the collaboration between the two institutes and what VNU-HCM City can learn from the innovation-campus model of MINATEC.
How are MINATEC and VNU-HCM City working togther?
We have an agreement between MINATEC and the Viet Nam National University of HCM City. We work with the Laboratory for Nanotechnology (LNT) because they have a clean room and we have the same way of working.
The co-operation is in the field of micro-devices and nano-technology. Depending on the contacts we have and the opportunities, we develop certain specific topics. We have a collaboration with the LNT on inkjet-printing and radio-frequency identification. And there are some ideas on the way to collaborate on topics like biological micro-electromechanical systems (BIOMEMS) and density of states (DOS) in different fields.
The collaboration comes from the contacts between researchers in Viet Nam and researchers at MINATEC. So over time, we will become involved in various topics depending on the opportunities. That is the way collaboration works. We have a general agreement.
We help train employees at the LNT by offering Vietnamese researchers who meet MINATEC requirements four-to-six month internships that allow them to participate in nanotechnology research activities, including on polyurethane.
We are also building on a common agreement that allows students to conduct research in Viet Nam and part of their research in France.
How can VNU-HCM City become an innovation campus like MINATEC?
At first, we only had a small lab inside MINATEC with 10 people and over the years it has developed. The process can be done more effectively because we can build on our past experiences.
VNU-HCM City and LNT can follow the same direction of MINATEC, having all different players (researchers, companies, industrial experts and others) who work together. The MINATEC concept means that we have people in the same area connected. That is the core.
It is not about a big or small campus, but about having people working together in the same place. That way people can work together, and ideas can emerge and grow.
Where does MINATEC's budget come from? Partners, suppliers or governments?
That is a good question, but I cannot answer because I do not remember the number exactly. We have two kinds of budgets, the budget for building MINATEC and the budget for running MINATEC.
In Viet Nam, it is possible to get a budget for building, but how to get the budget for a period of years is still the main difficulty. There should be some thinking or sharing between players on how to make the budget a bit more stable.
Conference draws 300 delegates
Since 2007, the international workshop on nanotechnology and application (IWNA) has been held every two years in November in Vung Tau City.
The workshop is jointly organised by the Laboratory for Nanotechnology of the Viet Nam National University – HCM City (VNU-HCM) and France's Micro- and Nano-Technologies Innovation Campus (MINATEC). It is supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology and HCM City Department of Science and Technology.
The first workshop, IWNA 2007, attracted 230 academic researchers and industrial experts coming from universities, institutes and companies around the world. Sixty experts from 15 countries participated, and 195 papers were presented. The second workshop, IWNA 2009, attracted 250 participants, including 45 experts from 19 countries and 210 papers.
This year, IWNA 2011 has over 300 delegates, including 100 foreigners from 21 countries. A total of 290 papers are being presented at the workshop that covers important issues in nanotechnology, ranging from fundamental research, nanomaterials and processing, to nanofabrication and applications.
The aim of the workshop is to provide an open specialised forum for domestic and international scientists, researchers and companies interested in nanotechnology and its applications.
(Source: VNS)
 |
How are MINATEC and VNU-HCM City working togther?
We have an agreement between MINATEC and the Viet Nam National University of HCM City. We work with the Laboratory for Nanotechnology (LNT) because they have a clean room and we have the same way of working.
The co-operation is in the field of micro-devices and nano-technology. Depending on the contacts we have and the opportunities, we develop certain specific topics. We have a collaboration with the LNT on inkjet-printing and radio-frequency identification. And there are some ideas on the way to collaborate on topics like biological micro-electromechanical systems (BIOMEMS) and density of states (DOS) in different fields.
The collaboration comes from the contacts between researchers in Viet Nam and researchers at MINATEC. So over time, we will become involved in various topics depending on the opportunities. That is the way collaboration works. We have a general agreement.
We help train employees at the LNT by offering Vietnamese researchers who meet MINATEC requirements four-to-six month internships that allow them to participate in nanotechnology research activities, including on polyurethane.
We are also building on a common agreement that allows students to conduct research in Viet Nam and part of their research in France.
How can VNU-HCM City become an innovation campus like MINATEC?
At first, we only had a small lab inside MINATEC with 10 people and over the years it has developed. The process can be done more effectively because we can build on our past experiences.
VNU-HCM City and LNT can follow the same direction of MINATEC, having all different players (researchers, companies, industrial experts and others) who work together. The MINATEC concept means that we have people in the same area connected. That is the core.
It is not about a big or small campus, but about having people working together in the same place. That way people can work together, and ideas can emerge and grow.
Where does MINATEC's budget come from? Partners, suppliers or governments?
That is a good question, but I cannot answer because I do not remember the number exactly. We have two kinds of budgets, the budget for building MINATEC and the budget for running MINATEC.
In Viet Nam, it is possible to get a budget for building, but how to get the budget for a period of years is still the main difficulty. There should be some thinking or sharing between players on how to make the budget a bit more stable.
Conference draws 300 delegates
Since 2007, the international workshop on nanotechnology and application (IWNA) has been held every two years in November in Vung Tau City.
The workshop is jointly organised by the Laboratory for Nanotechnology of the Viet Nam National University – HCM City (VNU-HCM) and France's Micro- and Nano-Technologies Innovation Campus (MINATEC). It is supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology and HCM City Department of Science and Technology.
The first workshop, IWNA 2007, attracted 230 academic researchers and industrial experts coming from universities, institutes and companies around the world. Sixty experts from 15 countries participated, and 195 papers were presented. The second workshop, IWNA 2009, attracted 250 participants, including 45 experts from 19 countries and 210 papers.
This year, IWNA 2011 has over 300 delegates, including 100 foreigners from 21 countries. A total of 290 papers are being presented at the workshop that covers important issues in nanotechnology, ranging from fundamental research, nanomaterials and processing, to nanofabrication and applications.
The aim of the workshop is to provide an open specialised forum for domestic and international scientists, researchers and companies interested in nanotechnology and its applications.
(Source: VNS)
