HCMCity (VNS/VNA) - The Government should have specific measures toenhance collaboration between academia and businesses so that more research canbe converted into practical technology, heard a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City onJuly 20.
Theevent, in which many Vietnamese and foreign experts took part and had the theme‘Commercialisation of scientific research results’, discussed experiences andmodels in commercialising research outcomes in the Republic of Korea, Germanyand Australia.
Delegatesalso discussed the lacunae and barriers that make taking research work from thelaboratory to businesses difficult.
NguyenMinh Huyen Trang, Deputy Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property andTechnology Transfer at the Vietnam National University in HCM City, said therewas a big gap between universities and research institutes on one hand andenterprises on the other.
"Whenthe former want to develop the market for their technologies or find partnersto commercialise their scientific research, they come up against policy-relatedhurdles," she said, adding overlapping and complicated procedures greatlydiscouraged scientists.
TheGovernment has policies to support businesses and scientists that carry onresearch, but there are no tools to foster links between scientists andbusinesses, according to delegates.
Ninetypercent of enterprises in HCM City are micro or small-sized and lack thefinancial and human resources for R&D.
Meanwhile,businesses focus on short-term commercial goals instead of long-term investmentin technology and research.
Thecountry should learn from others such as the Republic of Korea and Germany toprovide practical support policies to shrink the gap between academia andbusinesses, delegates said.
Alarge number of Vietnamese researchers studied in South Korea and now worked inalmost all industries in HCM City, some experts said.
Thecity should have a model for effective collaboration with that country, and theestablishment of a joint business promotion centre with the participation ofuniversities was needed to accelerate this and focus on support policies forresearch and development at universities and commercialising research results,they added.
Theworkshop organised by the Saigon Innovation Hub belonging to the Department ofScience and Technology was also attended by representatives of universities,research institutes and businesses in the city./.
VNA