Science, technology, innovation pushed for economic development

Scientific research in universities needed pushing up to create a high-qualified human resource for the industrialised economy. Photo nhandan.vn

HÀ NỘI – Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam has signed Decision No. 569/QĐ-TTg dated May 11 issuing a strategy for scientific-technological development and Innovation to 2030.

Accordingly, science, technology and innovation will further contribute to economic growth through scientific research and technological development activities of research institutes and universities.

Innovation activities will also help improve management and organisational capacity in enterprises.

The specific objective of the strategy is that science, technology and innovation play an important role in developing spearhead industries, especially the processing and manufacturing industry, making an important contribution to the restructuring of the economy towards modernisation and industrialisation by 2030 as well as take advantage of opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

By 2030, the proportion of the value of high-tech industrial products in the processing and manufacturing industries will reach at least 45 per cent of the total economy.

One of the main tasks and solutions for the development of science and technology and innovation is to build a national innovation system.

Specifically, a national innovation ecosystem closely linked with the region and the world is needed.

It is necessary to develop innovation ecosystems in industries, agriculture and services associated with domestic and global value chains, in which large enterprises act as a key role in leading innovation activities. State management agencies need to create a favourable institutional environment and policies so as to promote linkages between enterprises, research institutes, universities and organisations in research, application and innovation activities.

A system of national and regional innovation centres and start-up centres needs to be set up to create innovation hubs linking with high-tech zones, residential areas, financial centres, venture capital funds, universities and research institutes.

It is also essential to vigorously deploy open innovation platforms and networks in order to attract all domestic and foreign investment resources to create new technologies, new products, and new businesses.

Human resources

Other key tasks and solutions of the strategy are to develop human resources for science, technology and innovation with high qualifications and creative capacity.

Therefore, it must strengthen training in science and technology, computer skills, foreign languages, and creative design capacity associated with practical projects in high schools, especially through STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) training forms.

Orientation of science and engineering careers in schools and universities should further promoted along with reforming training programmes for science and technology in universities to meet the requirements of the labour market.

The Government should quickly build up a team of leading scientists, to step by step raise the standards of scientists in line with the standards in developed countries.

Under the strategy, two-way human resource transfer between the public and private sectors is also encouraged.

It also needs proper mechanisms and policies to attract highly qualified human resources from abroad and overseas Vietnamese to participate in domestic science, technology and innovation activities and develop networks to connect the overseas Vietnamese community of scientists to work in Việt Nam.

Honouring outstanding intellectuals

Amid the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Party has defined that science-technology and innovation is a strategic breakthrough for national development, and the contingent of scientists is the core of this process, stated President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc at a ceremony held in Hà Nội on Saturday to honour 106 outstanding intellectuals in the field of science and technology in 2022.

“The dream of a prosperous Việt Nam can only be realised under the guidance of the light of knowledge,” he said. 

Addressing the event held by the Việt Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA), the State leader highlighted the great attention that the Party and State have given to the development of science, technology and innovation as well as intellectuals in the field.

He hailed the VUSTA’s role in connecting Vietnamese scientists inside and outside the country over the past 40 years, significantly contributing to the country’s socio-economic development, and political and security-defence stability.

He noted that so far, the union has gathered more than 3.7 million experts, including 2.2 million in the field of science and technology, accounting for 32.5 per cent of the total intellectuals of the country.

The contingent of scientists have built up the national innovative capacity, the President said, noting that last year, Việt Nam became one of the top 45 leading countries in the world in terms of innovation, and took the lead in the list of middle-income economies in Global Innovation Index (GII).

He asked the VUSTA, as the representative body for scientists and intellectuals, and an important part of the country’s political system, should play a greater role in giving advice to the Party, State and Government on science-technology and innovation policies as well as financial mechanisms to better unite Vietnamese intellectuals, contributing to successfully realise national development goals in the new period.

At the ceremony, President Phúc, National Assembly Deputy Chairman Nguyễn Đức Hải and VUSTA leaders presented the title of Outstanding Science and Technology Intellectual to the 106 exemplary intellectuals. — VNS