Comments on the draft documents of the 14th National Party Congress: View knowledge and data as national assets

Viewing knowledge and data as national assets needs to be more clearly expressed in the draft documents of the 14th National Party Congress, that is the consistent viewpoint that Dr. Nguyen Viet Hai, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, emphasized when giving comments on the document. According to him, in the context of digital transformation, green transformation and knowledge competition, science and technology are not only "development pillars" but must become "core energy", laying the foundation for national productivity, quality and competitiveness.

Sharing about the draft documents of the 14th National Party Congress, Dr. Nguyen Viet Hai, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh Prize for Science and Technology, Young People with Beautiful Lives 2025, expressed his agreement with the spirit in the draft document: "Developing science, technology, innovation and digital transformation is the central driving force of the new growth model; is the decisive factor in productivity, quality, efficiency and competitiveness of the economy ".

Dr. Nguyen Viet Hai, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh Prize for Science and Technology, Young People with Beautiful Lives 2025. Photo: Lam Dang Hai

Dr. Hai believes that the valuable point in this draft is that the thinking on science and technology development does not stop at the role of "development pillar", but has been elevated to "strategic breakthrough", along with institutional improvement and high-quality human resource development. The 14th Congress clearly identifies the focus: Taking science, technology, innovation and digital transformation as the main driving force, associated with four transformations: Digital transformation, green transformation, energy transformation, structural transformation and quality of human resources. This is the concretization of the spirit of the 13th Congress Resolution, at the same time reflecting the vision of national development in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the process of deep integration.

However, to turn that progressive thinking into real strength, Dr. Nguyen Viet Hai emphasized the need for a new, more integrated, more daring and more humane approach, in order to maximize the creative capacity of Vietnamese people in all fields. According to Dr. Hai, science and technology must be considered the "core energy" of national development, creating a mechanism to connect science and technology with life and businesses.

Science and technology: “Core energy” of national development

“For decades, we have considered science and technology as the driving force for development. But entering the next phase, I believe that science and technology need to be considered the core energy, the 'knowledge infrastructure' of the country, similar to electricity and transportation in the 20th century. I propose that the document add to paragraph 6, part VII on breakthroughs in science and technology development, innovation and national digital transformation, the following contents: 'Consider knowledge and data as national assets; science and technology as core energy, innovation as a new development method'. That is the foundation to affirm that science is no longer an auxiliary tool, but the center of national competitiveness", Dr. Nguyen Viet Hai proposed.

Secretary of the Central Youth Union Nguyen Pham Duy Trang (in blue shirt), Chairman of the Central Council of Young Pioneers, took a commemorative photo with outstanding young people giving comments on the draft documents of the 14th National Party Congress. Photo: Lam Dang Hai

However, a major challenge today is the gap between academic research and practical application. Dr. Hai suggested that the document should further emphasize, in paragraph 6, part VII, the establishment of a mechanism to connect knowledge and the market, thereby creating conditions for the formation of initiatives to convert research results into products. He proposed developing models such as the National Technology Transfer Service Center, helping businesses search, buy or order domestic research results; or applied biomedical technology parks, where research institutes, hospitals and startups can coordinate to test, produce samples and commercialize products. Science and technology only truly become a driving force for development when closely linked to people's lives and business performance.

In addition, Dr. Hai proposed adding the orientation of "building a data and digital knowledge economy" in paragraph 3, part VII, as a basis for concretization in the National Target Program for the period 2026 - 2035, with a clear roadmap on digital infrastructure, legal corridor and human resource training.

According to Dr. Nguyen Viet Hai, digital transformation must go hand in hand with mindset transformation, cultural transformation and green transformation. Digital transformation cannot stop at purchasing software or deploying IT systems; the core is innovation in leadership thinking, decision-making and organizational culture.

Dr. Hai proposed adding to paragraph 5, part VII the content of building a “National Digital Culture”, emphasizing three fundamental values: Transparency, sharing and learning. In which, it is necessary to consider data and knowledge as “strategic public assets”, similar to land or budget, managed in a unified manner and used for the benefit of all people, based on digital cultural values, expressed in decision-making, data management, interaction between parties and building digital trust. Without digital culture, even modern technology projects can easily become fragmented, lack sharing, lack inheritance and fail to create long-term value”, Dr. Viet Hai shared.

The Draft Political Report has established '4 transformations' as the development orientation, in which digital transformation is the main driving force. Dr. Nguyen Viet Hai also proposed adding to paragraph 5 of Part VII the connection between digital transformation and green transformation, from which the Draft Political Report has identified "4 transformations" as the development orientation, in which digital transformation is the main driving force.

Dr. Nguyen Viet Hai proposed to add to paragraph 5, part VII the connection between digital transformation and green transformation, in order to create a basis for building a mechanism to encourage technology enterprises to participate in developing clean energy, managing emissions using digital data; promoting research on green medical technology, smart hospitals, remote health management, both serving people's lives and contributing to reducing emissions and energy consumption. At the same time, it is possible to recommend the inclusion of the criterion "digital efficiency - green efficiency" in the criteria for evaluating public investment projects. Thus, digital transformation is not only a management tool, but also a method of sustainable development.

Create development space for young team

As a young scientist in the health field, Dr. Nguyen Viet Hai deeply feels that many young Vietnamese researchers have the capacity and desire to contribute, but lack the opportunity and suitable environment to experiment, to make mistakes and do it again.

Dr. Hai proposed to add in paragraph 7, section VII a mechanism to protect and encourage young cadres to dare to think, dare to do, dare to break through for the common good, and at the same time build a "Young Innovation Ecosystem" associated with universities, hospitals and research institutes. According to him, this is the basis to empower young scientists to have the opportunity to be the head of independent projects at the ministerial and national levels if they are qualified, instead of having to go through many layers of formal review, as well as create a mechanism to evaluate research results based on applied value, not just the number of articles.

Building a “Talent - Data - Experiment” mechanism

In practice, many domestic studies have not been commercialized or widely applied, largely due to lack of data, lack of flexible testing environment and lack of incentive mechanism for talented people. Dr. Nguyen Viet Hai proposed adding 2 specific groups of solutions to paragraph 8, Part VII.

The first is to create an open national database on science, technology, inventions and publications, allowing controlled exploitation for research and development purposes. This will be an important foundation to promote new technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, precision medicine and the digital economy.

The second is to establish the National Fund for Development of Young Talents in Science and Technology, to support young scientists to own potential projects, have the right to own research results, access venture capital and international publications. When the State creates a space for experimentation, businesses and researchers will be bold in innovation, dare to take responsibility and that is the foundation for a dynamic innovation ecosystem.

“Our generation, young intellectuals born in the Doi Moi period, growing up in the integration period and living in the digital era, have a strong belief that Vietnamese knowledge can completely conquer world knowledge. The 14th National Party Congress is an important historical moment for us to shift from 'driving force' to 'main foundation' of science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation. I hope that in the official document, our Party will continue to affirm more clearly the vision: Building Vietnam into an innovative country, with an economy based on knowledge, data and human values”, Dr. Nguyen Viet Hai emphasized.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/gop-y-du-thao-van-kien-dai-hoi-xiv-cua-dang-xem-tri-thuc-va-du-lieu-la-tai-san-quoc-gia-20251115080413014.htm