Introducing breakthroughs in Science and Technology strategy to Vietnamese scientists in Germany

On November 29 in Berlin, the Office of Science and Technology, Embassy of Vietnam in the Federal Republic of Germany, chaired a seminar to introduce the breakthroughs of the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation 2025 and Vietnam's strategic directions for science and technology.

Mr. Nguyen Phu Binh, Deputy Director of NAFOSTED, introduced the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation 2025. (Photo: VNA)

Speaking at the opening of the seminar, Mr. Nguyen Phu Binh, Deputy Director of the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Head of the working delegation, emphasized that the purpose of the working delegation, including members of core units of the Ministry of Science and Technology participating in the development and implementation of science and technology policies, is to introduce some new points in the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation 2025, the policy mechanisms that have just been issued by the State, including special mechanisms, emphasizing the role of intellectuals abroad.

The seminar also aims to gather opinions and attract the participation of the intellectual community in Germany in perfecting policy mechanisms, building circulars, guidelines, and sub-law decrees to effectively implement the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation.

On behalf of Vietnamese scientists in Germany, Professor, Doctor of Science Nguyen Xuan Thinh, TU Dortmund University, Acting President of the Union of Vietnamese Associations in Germany, President of the Vietnam-Germany Innovation Network (VGI), welcomed the delegation to Germany to share new policies on developing core technologies and increasing the attraction of science and technology human resources, strengthening connections between scientists and research institutes in Germany, and taking advantage of the intellectual resources of Vietnamese scientists in Germany.

He expressed his hope that the Ministry of Science and Technology would strongly develop a joint funding program for researchers, especially young researchers, organize seminars and call for joint research, connecting Vietnam with strong German research networks.

He also shared his experiences in building joint research projects in Vietnam, working with domestic schools and research institutes, supporting domestic delegations to work in Germany, thereby connecting scientists and intellectuals of the two countries, helping to train research human resources in Vietnam.

Professor, Doctor of Science Nguyen Xuan Thinh speaks at the seminar. (Photo: VNA)

Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation has identified: “Institutions, human resources, infrastructure, data and strategic technology are the key and core contents, in which institutions are a prerequisite, need to be perfected and go one step ahead”.

Based on Resolution 57, the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation 2025 was developed and approved by the Vietnamese National Assembly on June 27, 2025, officially taking effect from October 1, 2025. This is considered a key step to directly institutionalize the orientations of Resolution 57.

Presentations by members of the working group of the Ministry of Science and Technology stated that the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation 2025 not only inherits regulations on science and technology but also creates a legal framework to form a national innovation ecosystem; innovate financial mechanisms; increase autonomy and self-responsibility for science and technology organizations; accept risks in research; encourage businesses to invest in research and development; promote technology transfer and develop the science and technology market.
The promulgation of this law also contributes to overcoming long-standing bottlenecks such as cumbersome financial procedures, an unclear contracting mechanism, lack of legal tools to support the commercialization of research results, as well as limited connection between state management agencies, institutes and enterprises.

The delegation also introduced to Vietnamese scientists in Germany the content of Decision 1131/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister, promulgating the list of strategic technologies and strategic technology products.

Head of the working delegation Nguyen Phu Binh emphasized that international cooperation is an important solution in developing science and technology, requiring the cooperation of the Vietnamese scientific community abroad. The Law on Science, Technology and Innovation has many policies to attract and promote experts and scientists who are Vietnamese people abroad and foreign experts such as: Policies on recruitment, labor and study; policies on salary; policies on housing; policies on rewards and honors...

Vietnamese scientists and experts attending the seminar expressed their joy and excitement when being introduced to the breakthroughs of the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation, clearing up previous bottlenecks that have hindered research cooperation between Vietnamese scientists abroad and domestic organizations.

Many opinions proposed solutions to develop research human resources through cooperation protocols, sending graduate students to study abroad to help diversify research, enhance research capacity...

Professor Tran Doan Duy Hai, Göttingen Medical University, emphasized the importance of human resource training. He suggested that when conducting scientific research projects, the results of training research human resources should be considered an important achievement of the project, not just evaluating the research results.

He also mentioned the difficulties in Vietnam in obtaining the first license for scientific and technological products that have never been licensed in the world, especially in the medical field, making it difficult for Vietnam to be at the forefront of technological breakthroughs. He cited the example of Germany currently having a law that applies unlicensed medical technology for humanitarian purposes to treat terminally ill patients.

This is understood as a sandbox mechanism, a controlled testing mechanism that allows businesses or organizations to test new technologies, products, services or business models in a limited legal environment, under the close supervision of state agencies, before the business or organization officially replicates the model.

This mechanism, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology, must be built by specialized ministries themselves and this will require professional contributions from scientists abroad.

Delegates attending the Seminar discussed with the working delegation issues related to changes in risk-taking mindset in scientific research, Germany's experience in selecting research topics to effectively use scientific research funding, shared laboratories, building a national artificial intelligence (AI) center and shared open AI data, developing a large language model for Vietnamese, Vietnamese culture to preserve national identity, etc.

At the end of the discussion, Head of the working delegation Nguyen Phu Binh highly appreciated the role of the Office of Science and Technology, the Embassy of Vietnam in Germany, in connecting the network of Vietnamese scientists and intellectuals in Germany and suggested that the Office of Science and Technology continue to receive comments and contributions from scientists of Vietnamese origin in Germany in the process of building science and technology policies.

VNA

Source: https://nhandan.vn/gioi-thieu-nhung-dot-pha-trong-chien-luoc-khoa-hoc-cong-nghe-voi-cac-nha-khoa-hoc-viet-nam-tai-duc-post926906.html