Promoting the strengths of scientific works into practice

Project accepted but not used

Every year, thousands of scientific research topics are registered nationwide at many institutions such as universities, academies, industries, and localities, along with many topics being completed and accepted.

In 2024, the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences accepted 375/378 grassroots-level projects and 154/157 ministerial-level projects. The Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology published 2,200 works in prestigious domestic and foreign journals.

However, how many percentages of scientific topics and works are applied in practice is still a big question. Public opinion believes that many scientific research works are accepted and then "put in a drawer".

How many percent of scientific topics and works are applied in practice is still a big question. Public opinion believes that many scientific research works are accepted and then "put in a drawer".

Regarding this issue, Dr. Phan Chi Hieu, President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, emphasized the need to clarify the applicability of research topics in the fields of science and technology, natural sciences, engineering and technology, social sciences and humanities, political theory, etc. because each field of science has different characteristics.

Particularly in the field of social sciences and humanities, the head of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences affirmed: Many research works in the field of social sciences and humanities have been effectively applied in practice.

The research results have provided many valuable arguments for the formulation of Party and State guidelines and policies; provided scientific arguments for the comprehensive renovation of the country, contributing to the formation of the Communist Party of Vietnam's viewpoints on socialism and the path to socialism; on the socialist-oriented market economy, the socialist rule of law state and socialist democracy; on Party building and rectification, innovation of leadership methods, improvement of the Party's governing and leadership capacity; on building a clean and strong political system...

“Recent studies on politics, law, culture, society, people, environment, the world situation, globalization and international integration, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, green transformation... have made practical contributions to the process of summarizing 40 years of national renovation, serving the process of building documents to submit to the 14th National Congress of the Party, perfecting the socialist rule-of-law state, building and perfecting development institutions, restructuring the economy, innovating the growth model...

Many research results directly contribute to the socio-economic development of localities; research results on history, tradition, archeology, culture, people, etc. help prepare dossiers for recognition of cultural heritage, gradually forming cultural industries, building local brands, contributing to increasing national "soft power" in the context of international integration.

However, Dr. Phan Chi Hieu does not deny the fact that there are some accepted scientific research projects that are not applied in practice.

President of the Academy of Science and Technology, Professor, Dr. Chau Van Minh also admitted that despite many efforts and some outstanding results, the Institute has not yet fully promoted its strengths in the application and commercialization of scientific research works.

Most recently, Khanh Hoa province concluded an inspection of the management and use of funding sources at the Department of Science and Technology, showing that many scientific topics had been settled and accepted but had not been applied in practice, and some topics, although accepted, still had shortcomings.

At the meeting on March 13 of the Steering Committee for Science, Technology, Innovation and Digital Transformation Development in Quang Binh Province, some delegates frankly pointed out that many scientific topics were put in the cabinet after acceptance, with no practical value.

Previously, at the 20th session of the 18th People's Council of Thanh Hoa province, some delegates requested the Director of the Department of Science and Technology to clarify the situation of scientific research topics with extended deadlines, failures, and accepted topics with low application efficiency.

The issue of scientific research projects being accepted and then abandoned, causing waste, has also been discussed in National Assembly sessions, showing that this is an issue of concern to the whole society.

At the 9th extraordinary session of the 15th National Assembly on February 17, Professor, Dr. Nguyen Anh Tri (Hanoi Delegation) expressed his opinion that in our country, there are still too few commercialized scientific research products.

Innovation in scientific research

Former Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan once said that there are 3 types of research topics that are easily "shelved" after acceptance: basic scientific research, applied research that must wait for the commercialization process and social acceptance, and research based on the emotions and desires of scientists, because they do not closely follow practical requirements and business needs, making them difficult to apply.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Minh Tan (Hanoi University of Science and Technology), who has just been awarded the Kovalevskaia Prize in 2024, also stated that it is necessary to distinguish between two types of research projects based on the starting point of the research, which are research projects originating from the realities of life and businesses and research projects originating from the thoughts of scientists. But regardless of the type of research, when there are applicable results, it will lead to the need to bring it into life.

There are many reasons why scientific research is “shelved” and does not enter real life. That is, research products do not ensure quality, the determination of research topics and research products does not closely follow practical requirements, the mechanism for transferring research results still has many problems, in many cases scientists want to commercialize research results, but there is no implementation mechanism, many research results, especially in basic research, cannot be applied immediately.

Particularly for social sciences and humanities, it is even more difficult to apply immediately to create specific products, and sometimes it takes many years to evaluate the effectiveness.

In scientific research for many years now, there has been a paradox: scientists' research results are rarely applied, while businesses want new technology and products but do not know where to find them.

In addition to the reason that research topics do not originate from practical needs, another important reason that makes it difficult for even feasible topics to transfer into products is the issue of ownership of research results from research activities funded by the State.

Proposing a solution to this problem, Dr. Phan Chi Hieu stated: “First of all, research activities must closely follow practical requirements and must be of quality in order to bring research products to market.

Second, it is necessary to address the issue of ownership of research results from research activities funded by the State. Current laws stipulate that the State is the owner of research results using the State budget, so transferring research results to the organization in charge of carrying out the research task for commercialization of research results is difficult. It is necessary to stipulate that the organization in charge owns the research results so that the commercialization process can be quick and smooth.

Third, there needs to be professional institutions (enterprises) to commercialize research results."

Although not all scientific research can be applied immediately in practice or the application in practice is not present in specific products, in the current conditions of our country, it is necessary to prioritize scientific research that can be applied immediately in life.

Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation has a policy of allowing and encouraging research organizations and scientists to establish and participate in operating businesses based on research results.

This is one of the important points that helps to remove difficulties for scientists, creating conditions for researchers to get closer to real life, participate in the market, and directly turn their research results into products.

This policy will certainly become a strong driving force for innovation in scientific research, combating waste and bringing many benefits to the country's economy.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/phat-huy-the-manh-cua-cac-cong-trinh-khoa-hoc-vao-thuc-te-post871851.html