YUSEA Annual Urban Studies Symposium 2025

Urban Innovation in Southeast Asia: Toward the Sustainable Future of Cities

Southeast Asia is entering a period of rapid growth marked by intensified urbanization. In response to climate pressures, rising inequality, and increasing urban complexity, cities across the region are experimenting with diverse innovation models—technological, social, ecological, and institutional—to adapt and move toward sustainable development.

The YUSEA Annual Symposium is the first student-initiated urban studies conference in Southeast Asia. In 2025, the event is jointly organized by YUSEA and VinUniversity (Vietnam). Under the theme “Urban Innovation in Southeast Asia”, the symposium explores varied interpretations, approaches, and manifestations of innovation within the region’s diverse urban contexts. By broadening the notion of innovation beyond technology, the symposium highlights the multiplicity of actors, models, and practices that are shaping contemporary urban transitions.

This year’s theme, “Urban Innovation in Southeast Asia: Toward the Sustainable Future of Cities”, encourages interdisciplinary and practice-oriented dialogue. The symposium emphasizes “the new”—new actors, tools, ideas, and practices—providing a platform for students and early-career researchers to present pioneering studies and experiments in urban development.

Event Schedule:
• 11 December 2025: Virtual Panels (via Zoom)
• 12 December 2025: CAS x YUSEA Open Lecture Day at VinUniversity

Full details, including panels, speakers, and program itinerary, are available in the booklet: https://tinyurl.com/yuseabooklet

Vietnam Panel: Urban Innovation in Vietnam in the Changing Southeast Asia

Time: 13:30 – 14:30 (Vietnam Time), 12 December 2025

Format: Hybrid (onsite at VinUniversity & online)

Location: VinUniversityy

Amid the rapid shifts occurring across Southeast Asia, Vietnam presents a distinctive landscape of urban innovation shaped by its social dynamics, technological developments, institutional structures, and cultural contexts. This panel expands the discussion on Vietnam’s urban innovation models, examining key drivers of change as well as the opportunities and challenges emerging within regional integration.

Speakers:

• Assoc. Prof. Trinh Tu Anh, Institute of Smart City and Management (ISCM), UEH

• Dr. Francis Ostemeijer, VinUniversity

• Dr. Ngo Hoang Ngoc Dung, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering

The speakers will share research insights and perspectives on urban innovation in Vietnam, including urban governance, community-based initiatives, smart technologies, social innovation, and sustainable planning approaches. The session aims to foster interdisciplinary exchange and connect scholars, practitioners, and students interested in the future of Vietnamese cities within a rapidly evolving Southeast Asian context.

Registration

Please register via the link: https://bit.ly/4rNwb78