‘Internet of Things' to play role in smart cities   Tran Viet Thanh, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, said the theme of the conference this year followed the mission to connect scientists, business and public administrators from the first two conferences in the previous two years. — Photo pcworld.com.vn HCM CITY - Internet of Things (IoT) applications play an essential role in building smart cities and improving the quality of life, speakers said at Saigon Hi-Tech Park's (SHTP) third annual international hi-tech conference that opened yesterday in HCM City. Speaking at the event, Le Hoai Quoc, president of Saigon Hi-Tech Park's management board, said: "Through the history and development of the internet, we have witnessed the explosion of information connections among human beings, empowered by telecommunication technology: wired and wireless." New technology advancements are continually being used in new applications, and society is moving towards a model in which every individual can be connected on the internet from any location, he said. New open-connection standards on the internet have been developed in various forms and types, and are connected automatically and easily, Quoc said, adding that the new field of IoT has already become a trend worldwide, and is the standard for a modern society. Vo Van Thuong, executive member of the Central Party Committee and HCM City Permanent Deputy Party Secretary, said the conference would help build a better HCM City with and higher quality of life. In addition to creating a friendly environment for doing business, HCM City is trying to continue to create more incentives and favourable conditions for further investment in science and technology. Tran Viet Thanh, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, said the theme of the conference this year followed the mission to connect scientists, business and public administrators from the first two conferences in the previous two years. The city is moving forward to building a modern and civilised city with a target of making it a smart city that applies IoT in the near future, he added. To achieve this, Thuong said the city hoped to receive comments and ideas from scientists, businessmen, experts and relevant agencies. Speaking at the first plenary session, Ron Gonzales, president and CEO of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, shared his experience as the mayor of San Jose, California from 1999 to 2006. Gonzales discussed how San Jose and Silicon Valley grew into the world's centre of innovation and entrepreneurship. The conference, which ends today, is a forum for scientific experts, senior leaders of enterprises and local and international experts to share experiences and discuss the development of science and technology capacity of Viet Nam and HCM City in particular. The conference is a cross-sectional model organised yearly to focus on hi-tech industry development in Viet Nam. The event includes two plenary sessions and four parallel sessions. The first two parallel sessions focused on the applications of IoT for a smart city and application of IoT for improving the quality of life. The conference today will have two parallel sessions, focusing on the platforms of IoT and the IoT business incubation and development. - VNS