A modern Nanotechnology research laboratory at the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNUHCM) (Source: VNUHCM) Hanoi (VNA) - Promoting scientific research activities and developing high-level scientific and technological human resources in universities is considered an urgent matter in the context of the strong emergence of the 4th industrial revolution.
Science and technology are regarded as tools to increase the competitiveness of Ho Chi Minh City in particular and the country in general. Universities play a crucial role in generating technology and intellectual assets, contributing to improving the quality of growth and meeting the demands of development.
With nearly 400 professors and associate professors, along with over 1,000 doctors, in its new development strategy, the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNUHCM) continues its mission of creating significant scientific research and taking the lead in innovation, importantly contributing to the country's development and promoting societal progress.
VNUHCM has so far developed outstanding centres and strong research groups, which are poised to lead the process of innovation and creativity. This crucial foundation contributes to implementing interdisciplinary scientific and technological tasks, resulting in scientific-technological and innovative products that possess added value and the potential for commercialisation.
In recent years, VNUHCM has consistently been recognised as one of the leading institutions in the country in terms of scientific publications, particularly publications in reputable international journal lists indexed in Web of Science (by Clarivate) and Scopus (Elsevier) databases. These publications have garnered high scores for academic reputation and citation rates, bringing the university nearer to the top 100 universities in Asia.
In 2022, VNUHCM had 2,345 articles published in reputable journals indexed in the Scopus database, up 26% compared to 2021. Those articles continued to constitute a significant portion of the university's annual international publication count. The proportion of international articles per PhD holder in the university also steadily rose, reaching 1.59 in 2022. This indicates that every researcher and lecturer with a doctoral degree at VNUHCM has articles published on international journals.
As of June 2023, the total number of articles published in reputable journals indexed in the Scopus database by VNUHCM reached 1,113, equivalent to 37% of the target set for 2023 (2,500-3,000 articles).
A scientific research activity at VNUHCM (Photo: VNUHCM) So far, the university has acquired over 65 intellectual property (IP) patents, with four of which patented in the US. Moreover, the establishment has also possessed more than 90 useful solutions.
VNUHCM has collaborated with the municipal authorities in training and developing high-quality human resources, including training scientific and technological personnel to serve the projects to turn HCM City into a smart city and develop Thu Duc city into a highly interactive and innovative urban area in the east of the city, which encompasses an international financial centre, an automated manufacturing centre, an educational technology and information technology centre, an ecological technology centre, a future urban area, and a startup centre.
The projects hold the promise of providing exceptional conditions and development opportunities for the southern metropolis but they also present a challenging task of preparing a compatible workforce to successfully implement the outlined objectives.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mai Thanh Phong, President of VNUHCM - Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), stated that as a member institute of VNUHCM, HCMUT demonstrates its key role in scientific research and technology transfer in the southern region.
HCMUT has established numerous scientific and technological cooperation relationships with localities, businesses, and international partners. It has actively engaged in implementing key scientific and technological programmes of HCM City and the country, and has also propelled the development of research groups, particularly interdisciplinary research groups. The university has also fostered innovation and built a startup ecosystem.
Despite many positive outcomes, HCMUT acknowledges that it has yet to fully unleash the potential of its scientific intellectual workforce. The ratio of research and teaching personnel of the university participating in scientific research is approximately 75%. The university’s facilities serving research have not fully met the practical requirements of businesses.
Most of the products have only been developed at the laboratory stage, resulting in businesses not being able to access them. The budget for research projects is insufficient to meet demand, especially for technology development projects. This has resulted in a failure to enhance the capacity of scientific research and technology transfer activities.
For scientific and technological research to meet expectations as the motivation behind growth model innovation, HCMUT underlines the need for a strong renewal of management mechanisms, investment methods, and financial mechanisms for scientific research. Updated planning and human resource development, and policies to attract scientific personnel are also necessary, as are coordination mechanisms between ministries and sectors in scientific and technological development. There is also a need for expansion of funding models for science and technology research activities. /.
