Secretary Tran Luu Quang: Abandoning dream thinking and moving to practical action

Bí thư Trần Lưu Quang: Bỏ tư duy mơ ước, chuyển sang hành động thực chất - Ảnh 1. — Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang said that science and technology must be considered the top core goal to form new development models - Photo: HO NHUONG

The meeting had the theme "Ho Chi Minh City aims to become an international-class Digital Economic Center and Innovation and Startup Center".

Advantages from intellectual resources

Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang emphasized that science and technology must be considered the top core goal, the foundation for forming new development models and enhancing the city's competitiveness.

To go faster and further, he said it is necessary to abandon dream thinking and move to practical action with specific and focused steps. One of the important orientations of the city is to build an international-standard Innovation and Startup Center.

Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang

The city is committed to accompanying, removing obstacles and creating all conditions for intellectuals and scientists to maximize their capabilities. Only when we take substantial and synchronous actions can the goal of turning Ho Chi Minh City into an international center of science, technology and innovation become a reality.

đổi mới sáng tạo - Ảnh 3. — The robot is capable of applying tape, arranging goods and carrying objects weighing about 18kg thanks to the smart arm system displayed at the meeting - Photo: HO NHUONG

In that picture, Dr. Dang Duc Thanh - founder of Startup University - believes that the university force plays a core role. With more than 60 universities, colleges and millions of students, lecturers, and scientists, Ho Chi Minh City possesses a rare intellectual human resource that few localities can match.

“This is the most important input material for the innovation goal and the requirements of Resolution 57 of the Politburo,” Mr. Thanh emphasized.

Mr. Thanh proposed to promote the model of “third generation university” - where training, research and entrepreneurship are linked together. There, students study and implement projects, lecturers participate in consulting, operating and commercializing research results.

Enterprises enter schools early, innovative projects can form and mature right in the academic environment. Mr. Thanh said that "Ho Chi Minh City currently has nearly 346,000 active enterprises, which is fertile ground for university startups to develop.

"Taking advantage of its student and lecturer resources and rich business ecosystem, the city can create a superior advantage in the innovation race," said Mr. Thanh.

đổi mới sáng tạo - Ảnh 4. — Professor Mai Thanh Phong said the important thing is to choose the right people, the right team to lead the city's journey of science and technology development - Photo: HO NHUONG

Need strong strategy and leadership team

Prof. Dr. Mai Thanh Phong - Rector of the University of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University) - said the focus is not only on building research or innovation centers, but more importantly, a systematic strategy and a strong enough mechanism to liberate resources.

"The city needs flexible policies to attract experts, promote business investment and create motivation for applied research and development," said Mr. Phong.

According to Mr. Phong, the most important starting point is to choose the right person and the right team. That person must possess an innovative and creative mindset, be able to design the system and lead the entire process as the chief architect in a large project.

Sharing her opinion, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai - Vice President of Ho Chi Minh City National University - informed that Ho Chi Minh City National University has established an Innovation Center that plays a core role in promoting the city's science and technology activities.

This is considered an important component in the strategy for developing science, technology and innovation in Ho Chi Minh City. From there, Ms. Mai proposed assigning the role of coordinating knowledge of the entire system of institutes and schools in the city to Ho Chi Minh City National University, while expanding connections to the Central and Southwestern regions.

In addition, Ho Chi Minh City also needs to organize annual science and technology forums to announce development needs and directions. Continuously sending signals will attract international experts, creating motivation for Vietnamese scientists abroad to return to contribute.

“Ho Chi Minh City National University is ready to be the focal point for implementing innovative projects by connecting businesses to solve real problems and real needs. We hope that the city will create appropriate mechanisms and policies to strongly promote the “three-house” model (State - school - business),” Ms. Mai proposed.