Training high-tech human resources: Combining internal and external resources.

By 2030, the government has identified science, technology, and innovation as key areas for sustainable development, contributing to Vietnam becoming a developing country with a modern, self-reliant, and technologically competitive industry in key sectors where the country has needs, potential, and advantages. To achieve this goal, the issue of high-tech human resources is crucial and is being addressed by higher education institutions.

Biotechnology students at the Faculty of Science (Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City) during a practical class.

Collaboration with businesses

According to Dr. Andrea Coppola, an economist at the World Bank in Vietnam, one of the challenges Vietnam must overcome to achieve its goal of becoming a high-income country by 2045 is human resources. On May 11, 2022, the Prime Minister issued Decision 569/QD-TTg on the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation Development until 2030, with the goal of training approximately 15,000 microchip design engineers by 2030. This is a challenging goal but also an opportunity if Vietnam receives strong investment from the state level and strengthens cooperation with businesses to promote training, research and development, and expand the scale of training in STEM fields (including science, engineering, technology, and mathematics). In particular, Vietnam needs a sustainable and long-term commitment, as building this workforce requires a stable and substantial supply from higher education, postgraduate education, and practical training.

According to Associate Professor Vu Hai Quan, Director of the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM), VNU-HCM is a university system with 8 member universities and 1 research institute, boasting the largest training scale in the country with approximately 100,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. VNU-HCM has set a vision to become a top-tier research university system in Asia by 2045, a hub for talent and a center for disseminating Vietnamese knowledge and culture. Based on this vision, VNU-HCM always considers cooperation with businesses as a crucial activity to increase resources and contribute to the successful implementation of its development strategy. In particular, in its development strategy for the 2021-2030 period, VNU-HCM has identified three key areas of training and research for the fields of Semiconductor Technology, Biotechnology, and Artificial Intelligence.

Taiwan (China) is leading the world in microchip and semiconductor chip technology. Professor Hsi-Pin Ma, Director of the Microchip Design Technology Center at National Tsing Hua University (Taiwan), shared: Taiwan currently has a Microchip Development Association to support collaborative development of microchip technology. This support is linked to universities and businesses to develop human resources. Students learn and gain practical experience at chip manufacturing companies. This is considered the standard for graduates in microchip technology. In addition, the government provides financial support, and educational institutions mobilize experts and businesses to participate in designing and building standardized training programs for the microchip technology industry.

Mobilizing resources

According to Mr. Shin Choong-il, Consul General of South Korea in Ho Chi Minh City, the semiconductor industry, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, intelligent systems, and eco-friendly issues will become pillars of the world's future industries. And human resources are the greatest asset for the future of nations. In June 2023, the President of South Korea visited Vietnam, delivering a message of support for investment in high-tech industries and high-tech human resources in Vietnam. This message was reinforced during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to South Korea in July 2023.

Meanwhile, Susan Burns, the US Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, stated that during his visit to Vietnam in September 2023, President Joe Biden signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in developing supply chains, human resources, and the semiconductor technology ecosystem in Vietnam. Simultaneously, through a program of support and cooperation between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City and other Vietnamese universities, the US will continue to enhance human resource capacity to meet the demands of the new economy.

From the business perspective, Kenneth Tse, CEO of Intel Vietnam, stated: Intel Vietnam is currently the largest chip assembly, testing, and packaging plant. Therefore, human resources are a vital issue for Intel. From 2010 to 2016, Intel developed scholarship and training programs for approximately 9,000 Vietnamese engineers currently working at the plant. In the future, Intel hopes to continue expanding cooperation with Vietnamese universities to support scholarships and participate in training semiconductor chip human resources.

Mr. Trinh Thanh Lam, Business Director of Synopsys South Asia (a subsidiary of Synopsys - USA), stated: In March 2024, Synopsys Vietnam signed a cooperation agreement with the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM) to develop human resources for the field of integrated circuit design and semiconductor technology. Currently, more than 600 Vietnamese engineers work for the company in Vietnam. In its future development strategy, Synopsys plans to open another center in Ho Chi Minh City and needs many engineers and experts in integrated circuit and semiconductor technology. Along with this, Synopsys hopes to cooperate with universities to provide scholarships and select outstanding students to participate in an internship program at Synopsys, subsequently recruiting engineers through this program.

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