As Vietnam’s star continues to rise, both in its economy and global standing, Ho Chi Minh City is undergoing radical change. While some of these changes smack you square in the face, with dismantled old buildings, skyscrapers and construction hoarding populating large parts of district one and beyond, others are less obvious.
There is another sea of change, if you scratch beneath the surface you will find one of the world’s fastest growing tech scenes and an abundance of IT talents to back it up. A country famed for exporting coffee and textiles is gaining a reputation for another homegrown commodity. So, what is it exactly that is turning the Paris of the East into a potential Silicon Valley?
It is clearly a growing industry in the city and as more investment pours in and more and more jobs are created, it is no surprise that we are seeing an ever-increasing number of IT talents emerging from Vietnamese universities.
A team of software developers from Ho Chi Minh University recently ranked third in a worldwide coding competition, beating Berkley and a host of other top universities. HackerRank tests teams from all over the globe with various coding problems and is used as a source by some employers to test candidates’ proficiency. It is unique in that it tests students purely on their ability to code, unlike the US News and World Report List, which uses a more traditional academic rankings system. Ho Chi Minh University’s IT talents far exceeded their supposed academic world standing and highlights the impressive standard of coders being produced in Vietnam.
With huge multinationals such as Samsung and Intel investing eye-watering amounts into facilities, generating thousands of jobs in production in the process. This will only have underlined the importance of encouraging and promoting a thriving tech scene to the powers that be.
The most obvious example of this being the government-funded $40 million Saigon Silicon City due for completion in 2020, said to provide a network of services and programs, consulting, product testing and completion. A plethora of government-funded and private incubators already offer assistance and expertise to budding start-ups and further incentive for others to launch their own applications.
The team’s speed and accuracy certainly raised a few eyebrows given the supposed gap in science and technology education between Vietnam and the United States, maybe this gap is now beginning to be bridged, aided by the influx of expertise and motivated government investment in infrastructure. There certainly seems cause for optimism that the Silicon Valley dream could become a Saigon reality, as the tech community in Ho Chi Minh continues to strengthen and evolve, with local and western programmers working side by side.
This commentary displays in-depth viewpoints on rising scenery of IT talents in Vietnam along with incisive shreds of evidence, written by fram^ Head of Business Development – Fred Smith. Please visit here for more services fram^ offers or get in touch with Fred via [email protected].
