Sydney (VNA) – As global competition in advanced technologies intensifies, Vietnam needs to identify the strategic segments of the semiconductor value chain that it can realistically master, according to Dr Nguyen Minh Triet, Chair of Academic Council at the Vietnam Australia Innovation Network (NIC AU) and a research engineer at Archer Materials in Australia.
Speaking to the Vietnam News Agency, he said that relying solely on imported technologies or participating in low-value manufacturing would make it difficult for Vietnam to move up the global value chain.
Drawing on his research experience in the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Australia, Triet identified three core factors that enable a country to integrate deeply into the semiconductor value chain. The first is a pool of engineers and scientists with hands-on experience in developing such technologies. The second is a modern shared research and fabrication infrastructure that supports universities, research institutes and businesses. The third is the ability to effectively connect research activities with industry needs and market demand.
Against this backdrop, Vietnam needs to adopt a more practical approach to its semiconductor strategy. Rather than focusing on headline indicators such as the number of engineers trained or plants built, the priority should be to identify the strategic stages of the value chain that the country can genuinely develop and control.
On human resources, the expert stressed that the country should develop engineers who have hands-on experience across the entire product development process, from design and fabrication to testing, failure analysis and process optimisation. Such practical expertise, he noted, cannot be replaced by short-term training courses or classroom instruction alone.
He also called for greater investment in shared research and fabrication centres, enabling universities, research institutes and enterprises to access advanced facilities, thereby narrowing the gap between research, production and commercialisation.
Vietnam's ultimate goal, Triet said, should not simply be to establish a presence in the semiconductor industry, but to gradually master high-value, knowledge-intensive segments of the value chain and become a key link in the global semiconductor supply chain. This would provide a launch pad for strengthening the country's competitiveness in artificial intelligence, electronics and the digital economy./.
VNA
