Unleashing Vietnam's creative power in the digital age
Báo Thanh niên•12/01/2025
Mr. Vu Hoang Lien, Chairman of the Vietnam Internet Association, repeatedly said that this is truly an "innovation" and "breakthrough" when talking about Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW dated December 22, 2024 of the Politburo signed and issued by General Secretary To Lam. Right in the guiding viewpoint, the Resolution clearly stated: Innovating the thinking of law-making to ensure management requirements and encourage innovation, eliminating the thinking of "if you can't manage, then ban". Mr. Vu Hoang Lien emphasized: This is a breakthrough in thinking, a guideline and will be the basis for creating all conditions to promote the development of innovation activities, carry out digital transformation so that Vietnam can confidently enter the new era.
Many technology solutions were introduced by the business community in Phu Nhuan District at the forum.
Photo: Sy Dong
In addition, Dr. Nguyen Si Dung, former Deputy Head of the National Assembly Office, assessed that Resolution 57 of the Politburo is an important step forward in orienting the development of science, technology and innovation as a core driving force for Vietnam's economy to break through and enter a new era. "First, the Resolution affirms the central role of science, technology and innovation in transforming the growth model, from relying on cheap labor and natural resources to relying on knowledge, technology and high added value. This will help Vietnam overcome the middle-income trap and aim to become a developed country by 2045. Second, by promoting digital transformation on a comprehensive scale, the Resolution opens up new development space for economic sectors. Digital transformation will optimize production and business activities, helping Vietnamese enterprises increase their competitiveness in the global market. At the same time, solutions such as developing digital government and digital economy will also improve the effectiveness of state management, improve the business environment and attract investment. Third, the Resolution emphasizes the role of inspiring creativity, unleashing potential from research institutes, universities, businesses and individuals. This is an opportunity for us to build an innovation ecosystem. "strong, in which all social resources are mobilized to contribute to common development," Mr. Dung analyzed.
World's leading brands participate in semiconductor exhibition for the first time in Vietnam
Photo: Ministry of Planning and Investment
"The biggest breakthrough is that the Resolution emphasizes institutional improvement to turn institutions into competitive advantages. This is a decisive factor, because institutions will create a framework for all scientific , technological, innovation and digital transformation activities. Institutional improvement here is not only about amending the law , but also about removing administrative barriers, building mechanisms to encourage innovation and technology application. The Resolution proposes specific mechanisms, such as "regulatory sandbox" in new technology fields, so that Vietnam can test new development models without being bound by outdated regulations. In addition, another highlight of the Resolution is the focus on investing in digital infrastructure and high-quality human resources. These are two key factors to create sustainable competitiveness, not only in the region but also in the global market," the former Deputy Head of the National Assembly Office emphasized.
Also stating that a series of policies in Resolution 57 are very important, leading breakthroughs to promote science, technology, innovation and socio-economic development, Dr. Pham Huy Hieu, lecturer of Engineering and Computer Science - VinUni University - Head of Research Department, Innovation Network of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges, gave examples such as increasing funding for research and development (R&D) to 2% of GDP from the current 0.4% of GDP, total annual budget expenditure for science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation to 3% is a clear change. In particular, accepting risks, risky investments and delays in scientific research, technology development, innovation; or exempting businesses, individuals, and organizations from responsibility in technology testing, due to new, objective models that cause economic damage... is an extremely breakthrough mindset.
Student of Chemical Engineering (scientific research) University of Technology (HUT)
Photo: Dao Ngoc Thach
Dr. Pham Huy Hieu emphasized: Resolution 57 introduces many new changes that are consistent with the fundamental nature of science, especially the idea of accepting delays and risks in research. This is especially important for scientists to freely explore new knowledge spaces - the most important factor in creating technological breakthroughs. Scientists will not need to limit their minds just to ensure that their topics are accepted according to the initially registered products. Regarding financial mechanisms, the rapid application of the fund mechanism (using the disbursement mechanism according to the progress of scientists' work) is consistent with international science management principles and standards. This will help "untie" scientists so that they can focus their time, effort and intelligence on their most basic and valuable activities, which are implementing research activities, developing technology and training people. In particular, placing trust in scientists and minimizing financial and accounting procedures has long been a desire of the scientific community. Moreover, accepting risks in research is consistent with the nature of science and is the foundation for creating new technological breakthroughs. He cited that mRNA vaccines are the main scientific foundation for creating Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines to fight Covid-19 based on completely new technology that has never been widely applied before. Initially, scientists faced skepticism because of the stability of mRNA in the body and the rapid development speed. In the end, this technology produced breakthrough results and demonstrated outstanding effectiveness, saving millions of lives globally. Or another example, before deep neural networks achieved success and created a global impact like today, the scientific community had a period of losing faith in these models for a long time called "AI Winter". Deep neural network models require massive computational resources and big data, which were not easily accessible at the time. It was this persistence and risk-taking in research that allowed the technology to continue to develop, opening up a range of new applications that have had a major impact on the economy and society as it is today.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Vu Hoang Lien said that in the field of science and technology, we must first accept mistakes. Because research and inventions start from zero, no one knows what is right and what is wrong. Only when we start doing it and during the process can we evaluate whether it is right or not, or even whether the final result is effective or not... In the field of innovation and startups, the failure rate is very high. It is estimated that only about 3-5% of start-up businesses in the world are successful. But if only a few of them grow strong, they can break through, become technology "unicorns", and bring a country's economy to rapid growth. This is something that businesses in traditional fields often take decades or even hundreds of years to develop to achieve. Therefore, daring to accept mistakes, providing a pilot implementation mechanism (Sandbox) for new fields or exempting responsibility when there is economic damage when testing new technologies will be a great motivation for all scientists, businesses, and individuals to invest in creative and innovative activities or even in the current digital transformation process.
Innovative activities are invested in development.
Photo: Contributor
The next important issue is implementation to truly promote science and technology activities and innovation in the country. According to Dr. Nguyen Si Dung, to achieve the fastest and highest efficiency, it is necessary to focus on three factors: Strengthening implementation capacity, closely monitoring and prioritizing pilot implementation. Currently, Vietnam has many advantages to promote science and technology and digital transformation. That is a stable political and social environment; a young, dynamic workforce, ready to learn and access new technology; a large number of internet and smartphone users, Vietnam has the potential to strongly develop the digital economy. However, we also face many difficulties such as unsynchronized technology infrastructure, especially in rural areas, which is a big challenge. High-quality human resources in advanced technology fields are still lacking. In addition, institutions and policies are still incomplete, not keeping up with the development speed of new technology industries. Another limitation is that financial resources for research and development are still low compared to other countries in the region. To overcome these difficulties, it is necessary to invest heavily in digital infrastructure and scientific research. At the same time, increasing the budget and attracting investment from the private sector in research and development will help accelerate the pace of innovation. In addition, developing high-quality human resources is an urgent task. Theeducation system needs extensive reform, focusing on science, technology and digital fields, and cooperating internationally to attract and train talent. Institutional improvement is an inevitable requirement, it is necessary to review and amend legal regulations to facilitate innovation and digital transformation. Applying the "regulatory sandbox" mechanism will help reduce barriers, allowing flexible testing of new models. Finally, it is necessary to build an investment incentive mechanism through tax incentives, research support funds and venture capital funds... "For the policy to come into life , we need synchronous coordination between relevant parties, drastic implementation and maximum utilization of resources. If implemented well, Vietnam can completely overcome challenges and take advantage of opportunities to break through in the new era", Dr. Nguyen Si Dung shared more.
Dr. Pham Huy Hieu also said that the implementation of Resolution 57 is a big challenge, especially in the research and development of cutting-edge technologies such as semiconductors, quantum computing, and new energy, which require huge investment capital, deep understanding of technology, and complex technical infrastructure. He noted: Currently, Vietnam's science and technology force is still limited in scale and diversity of specialized fields, and there is a great lack of leading scientists and chief engineers who are capable of gathering, shaping, managing, and implementing large-scale and impactful research projects. Meanwhile, conducting research in these fields requires a lot of time, effort, and a reasonable strategy. Therefore, the coordination between ministries and relevant agencies to effectively implement the spirit of Resolution 57 requires unprecedented determination. "In reality, many good, modern, and outstanding policies have been introduced, but these policies have never been successfully implemented. Therefore, the Vietnamese science and technology community has special expectations for Resolution 57 when General Secretary To Lam is the Head of the Central Steering Committee on Science, Technology Development and Digital Transformation, helping to unify perceptions and actions with the goal of successfully implementing the new breakthroughs set forth in the Resolution," he emphasized.
Resolution 57 creates development momentum, bringing Vietnam into a new era
Mr. Vu Hoang Lien, Chairman of the Vietnam Internet Association, repeatedly said that this is truly an "innovation" and "breakthrough" when talking about Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW dated December 22, 2024 of the Politburo signed and issued by General Secretary To Lam. Right in the guiding viewpoint, the Resolution clearly stated: Innovating the thinking of law-making to ensure management requirements and encourage innovation, eliminating the thinking of "if you can't manage, then ban". Mr. Vu Hoang Lien emphasized: This is a breakthrough in thinking, a guideline and will be the basis for creating all conditions to promote the development of innovation activities, carry out digital transformation so that Vietnam can confidently enter the new era. 
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