Singapore, 29 May 2026 – Singapore Management University’s (SMU) Longevity Societies and Economies Institute (LSEI) today signed a landmark research and education Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Vietnam Association of Medical Biological Research and Application (VAMBRA) – the first major regional collaboration for the institute since its launch in April this year. The MOU was signed by Dr Cheong Wei Yang, SMU Vice Provost for Strategic Research Partnerships and Interim Co-Director of LSEI, and Mr Nguyen Ngoc Huan, Chairman of VAMBRA.
Formalised in the presence of Mr To Lam - General Secretary of the Central Committee of the 14th Party Congress, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam during his official visit to Singapore, the partnership reflects the importance both governments place on longevity as a strategic priority. This collaboration aims to help Vietnam optimise its ‘Longevity Dividend’ – the economic and social gains for societies that prepare well for an ageing population rather than being overwhelmed by it.
Under the five-year MOU, LSEI and VAMBRA, together with its network of member organisations, will collaborate on deploying digital and assistive health technologies tailored to the needs of Vietnamese seniors, informed by LSEI's research into what older adults need to live healthier and more purposeful lives. The partnership will also serve as a learning opportunity for LSEI: by piloting technologies within Vietnam's cultural and social context with the aim of deepening understanding of what works for ageing populations across Asia's diverse cultural landscape.
The collaboration supports LSEI’s role as a regional platform for longevity research and innovation in Asia. By drawing on global best practices in age-friendly cities, workforce and retirement policy, and the shift towards a multi-stage life economy, LSEI aims to turn international insights into practical solutions for Asian urban societies.
Vietnam faces one of the most rapid demographic shifts in Southeast Asia. The country’s population aged 65 and above is projected to more than double over the next two decades, from 9.3 million today to 20.5 million by 2044. Vietnam is on track to formally enter the ’aged society’ threshold in 2034, when those aged 65 and above hits over 14 per cent, and become a ’super-aged’ nation by 2050. The partnership between LSEI and VAMBRA comes eight years ahead of that milestone, at a critical window when the right and sustainable interventions can still shape the trajectory.
Vietnam is not alone in this challenge. Longevity has become a defining policy challenge across Asia, and it is against this shared regional backdrop that SMU launched LSEI. This SMU interdisciplinary institute is the first in the region dedicated to developing evidence-based longevity research that integrates health and care perspectives with economics and labour productivity in a systems perspective, and to measure outcomes from the perspective of holistic well-being and economic sustainability.
The collaboration will support Vietnamese health system leaders, policymakers and healthcare professionals through executive development programmes and AI/data analytics workshops. These will cover new longevity frameworks, including the “Multi-Stage Life” model, and equip participants with tools to better predict and personalise senior care. LSEI will also train Vietnamese researchers in the methodology underpinning the Singapore Life Panel to analyse Vietnam's ageing and financial security trends. Plans for knowledge exchange, visiting scholar programmes and community-level ’Longevity Literacy’ outreach round out the collaboration, with VAMBRA also potentially playing a wider role in scaling the partnership's reach across ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific.
Dr Cheong Wei Yang, SMU Vice Provost for Strategic Research Partnerships, said: “LSEI aims to seize the opportunities arising from longer life expectancies across Singapore and Asian cities. Through this partnership with VAMBRA, we look forward to working closely with the Vietnamese ecosystem to deepen our understanding of the needs, aspirations and cultural contexts of Vietnamese seniors. These insights will help inform the development and pilot deployment of technologies that can support healthier ageing, purposeful engagement and holistic well-being.”
Mr Nguyen Huan, Chairman of VAMBRA, said: “This program marks a meaningful continuation of the initiatives championed by Mdm Nguyen Hong Suong, Advisor to the Chairman of VAMBRA. Partnering with LSEI at this pivotal moment allows us to take a proactive approach toward securing a sustainable future for our aging society. By combining SMU's world-class research with VAMBRA’s network and key member organizations like VietHealth, we can effectively equip our healthcare professionals and policymakers with advanced tools like AI analytics and the 'Multi-Stage Life' framework. This collaboration will allow us to localise innovative digital health technologies and training methodologies to fit Vietnam's unique cultural context. Ultimately, our goal is to successfully unlock the 'Longevity Dividend' and ensure a healthier, more purposeful quality of life for seniors in Vietnam and across the broader ASEAN region.”
LSEI builds on SMU's existing strengths in ageing research, including the Centre for Research on Successful Ageing (ROSA) and the Singapore Life Panel, one of the world's leading high-frequency panel surveys tracking financial and well-being outcomes across the lifespan. The VAMBRA collaboration marks LSEI's first step in translating its research foundation into applied partnerships across Asia.
The partnership supports SMU’s broader impact agenda under its SMU2030 vision, including the strategic priorities of Digital Transformation, Sustainable Living and Growth in Asia. Through this collaboration, SMU is committed to supporting education and research, expanding learning opportunities to address societal challenges, enabling knowledge transfer to benefit society, driving innovation and creating real-world impact. For more information on SMU’s impact agenda, visit SMU2030 | Singapore Management University (SMU).
- ^Viet Nam Population Projections, 2024-2074, National Statistics Office of Viet Nam, December 2025. Prepared in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).