The science and technology sector had made great achievements in the last five years, but it needed to continue developing the country's professional workforce to meet the nation's socio-economic development demands, said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan on Nov. 10.
Nhan made the comment at a national conference in Hanoi to review the development of science and technology from 2001 to 2010 and the sector's 2010-20 development plan.
He also said that the integration of science and technology in enterprises had been limited and researchers' salaries were still low.
"National research and technology application centres should focus more on developing science and technology that can be realistically applied," said Nhan.
In the last five years, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) has researched and selected 14 projects that would receive funding and support. The ministry has also implemented projects to address urgent socio-economic issues, including programmes to develop genetically engineered crops, research avian influenza A (H5N1) vaccines, shipbuilding projects, and energy projects.
MoST deputy minister Le Huu Quoc said during the last five years, several projects dealing with digital telecommunications, optical fibre communication, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and third-generation (3G) technology had been successfully implemented in the country.
"Vietnam has made good use of the VINASAT-1 satellite and is preparing to launch VINASAT-2 in 2012," Quoc added.
In the agricultural sector, scientists had created 142 new plant breeds, 100 of which were productive rice breeds.
Quoc also reported that the highly educated workforce in the science and technology sector had grown in the last five years. There were more than 1,500 science and technology organisations in the country, and about 6,000 employees working in the science and technology sector.
He admitted that there was a lack of qualified engineers in the country. Many national science and technology plans had been carried out slowly because of bureaucratic red tape. The Government's investment in technology was still limited, Quoc said.
