Today we visited Saigon Hi-Tech Park, a government owned park dedicated to supporting companies focused on logistics and technology. The mission of the park is to help business that would advance Vietnam’s economy and turn the country into a leading force in the technology industry. The part of the visit I enjoyed the most was seeing all of the companies they are helping. These companies are making significant changes in their field and country, such as Transimex, a logistic company that is responsible for transporting a high amount of cargo. We also visited the innovation hub, where they use equipment like 3D printers and wood-working tools to work on potential products and ideas. It was very interesting seeing how the park was encouraging and supporting R&D (research and development), and seeing some of the successful products developed with the help from the park. I have never heard of technology ecosystems like this one in the U.S., but I think it would be a very influential system to have. This park is also impactful when it comes to colleges. They provide space and materials for technology students at Vietnam colleges to build and create projects. I think this is a good method to help their mission of promoting Vietnam’s technology industry because it provides the support students need to become leaders in their field, so I think this program would help with the park’s long-term goals.

We also visited Coherent, a technology company planning on expanding from 1500+ employees to 5000+ by 2028. I think this rapid expansion is ambitious but beneficial to Vietnam’s economy and labor force. This company is focused on not only diversity, equity, and inclusion, but also the well-being of their employees. They understand that many of their employees send money back to their families in their hometown while they stay here and keep very little, so they have programs to help them such as paying for their travel tickets home during Lunar New Year and providing housing. I also found it interesting why they chose to expand into Vietnam. They were founded in Pennsylvania, and then expanded to Singapore, China, and then Vietnam. The main reasons for this choice was because of Vietnam’s low manufacturing costs, their stable government, their exchange rate, and their tax incentives that allow them to not pay some taxes for a few years. I think their expansion is very interesting, and I am excited to see how it will turn out.