Promoting the role of overseas intellectuals and businessmen

Photo caption

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Le Hung at the laboratory at the Paris School of Engineering, Gustave Eiffel University, France. Photo: LH

In your opinion, in what areas can the overseas business community and intellectuals play a role in promoting the private economy in Vietnam, especially in technology transfer, innovation and participation in the global value chain?

I think it is necessary to establish and put into operation the model of "research and development center" (R&D) in public service units, state-owned and private corporations, especially for a number of strategic, high-tech and connected industries.

The goal of the R&D model is to directly solve practical problems in production, exploitation, digital transformation, contributing to the modernization and optimization of production processes. This is also a favorable environment to take advantage of Vietnamese intelligence around the world, helping domestic experts get closer to international scientific standards, gradually becoming autonomous in technology.

Besides, it also helps Vietnamese scientists and experts to develop "made in Vietnam" products that directly serve and improve people's lives and gradually reduce dependence on foreign suppliers, helping us confidently produce products that can compete with foreign countries at reasonable prices.

The establishment of R&D centers solves the problem of employing, attracting and retaining talents; especially in the context of the Vietnamese community abroad always wanting to return to their homeland to contribute and develop. Difficult problems encountered in the country will be solved by Vietnamese intellectuals and experts abroad in combination with domestic scientists based on international experience and lessons, consolidating and strengthening the great national unity bloc, increasing national pride in each Vietnamese citizen when contributing to the development of the country.

Furthermore, attracting overseas Vietnamese to participate in R&D creates the premise to attract international experts and friends to work and help us solve domestic problems because each country will face different problems.

Attracting foreign experts to invest and research clearly demonstrates the spirit of multilateral diplomacy that our Party has proposed, concretized in Resolution No. 59-NQ/TW on International Integration in the New Situation, in which multilateral diplomacy is not only simply understood in terms of geography but also in all aspects of life such as people's diplomacy, digital diplomacy, etc. In which, the element of scientific diplomacy is always highly valued in the world today.

Scientific research topics proposed by the center will be directly linked with universities and research institutes to train the next generation with high capacity and qualifications, always ready to contribute to the cause of building and defending the Fatherland in accordance with the spirit of connecting the State, schools and businesses as stated in Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW on breakthroughs in education and training development, directly signed and issued by the Politburo, the Secretariat and the General Secretary in August 2025.

Research topics proposed by R&D are combined, monitored and funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology to ensure the content and quality of scientific research in each topic. This promotes the early implementation of Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW with specific goals set out, such as: Mobilizing and allocating 3% of the budget for science, technology and innovation.

The proposed target is considered quite high, but it is considered very carefully because these indicators in our country have been limited in previous years due to many objective and subjective reasons. Besides, the products of these research topics are scientific publications or patents applied to life, which will help increase the rate of Vietnamese patents in business and production; directly promote the "total factor productivity - TFP" index of our country to reach the target of over 55%, equal to countries in the region and approaching developing countries.

What should Vietnam do to connect domestic schools, institutes, and businesses with the network of overseas intellectuals and students to develop high-quality human resources, sir?

“Strengthen and promote the work of discovering, nurturing and training young talents; actively attract, employ and retain Vietnamese talents, and limit brain drain in the context of globalization” because people are always the center, subject, most important resource and goal of development.

The attraction and use of talents has always been a focus of our Party and State and has been specified in documents, most recently Decree No. 179/2024-ND/CP issued by the Government at the end of 2024 on Regulations on policies to attract and use talented people working in agencies, organizations and units of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the State, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations or policies on preferential treatment, especially to attract at least 100 leading experts to work in the country. This demonstrates the strategic vision and high determination in creating a team of leading intellectuals and experts to lead the development of science, technology and national digital transformation.

Attracting and utilizing talents, especially Vietnamese people living abroad, faces certain difficulties. In addition to financial issues, it is necessary to answer questions about issues such as: Specific tasks to be solved, what the working environment is like, promotion opportunities, career development and the ability to integrate into the domestic environment.

Each country has different office cultures; regulations, administrative procedures, and operating mechanisms. Therefore, integrating into a new environment will have certain impacts on the working process. Therefore, there should be specific plans on "career opportunities" that are attractive enough to retain talent after returning home, avoiding brain drain. Especially for young talents not only in the top 4 priority areas such as: High-speed railway, nuclear power, artificial intelligence, semiconductors but also young talents in 11 strategic technology groups, 35 strategic product groups in the period 2025 - 2030 according to Decision No. 1131/QD-TTg.

In addition, the work of discovering, nurturing and training young talents needs to be focused on. Currently, in addition to the community of Vietnamese students studying abroad, there are gradually appearing generations F1, F2... who were born and raised in the host country, carrying Vietnamese blood. These are valuable resources of the country that play an important role in promoting Vietnam's integration, bringing Vietnam to the world and bringing the world to Vietnam.

Therefore, the work of discovering and nurturing talents needs to be focused on and promoted, especially in educating patriotism, building love for the homeland and country, preserving and conserving Vietnamese culture, building a united overseas Vietnamese community that understands history, and does not fade away from traditions and revolutionary ideals.

Discovering young talents can be done through competitions and awards in science and technology, innovation, culture... with fields that change annually, closely following the actual situation in each stage of the country's development.

These are not only the country's ambassadors, scientific diplomats, cultural diplomats, and people's diplomats, but also the first warriors in the early and far-reaching protection of the Party's ideology, helping to crush all the anti-statements, distortions, and sabotage plots of hostile forces. At the same time, they spread the beautiful image and correct policies of the Party and State to international friends.

Furthermore, the provision and training of necessary skills for intellectuals and young talents should be given attention; especially for Vietnamese people who wish to return to live, work and contribute to their homeland and country. Depending on the desired working environment, there are different skills, but for the state environment, the basic skills required such as "state management", "political theory"... are very helpful not only in nurturing revolutionary ideals, improving one's own theoretical level but also in returning and integrating into the domestic working environment.

The skills provided, although not through practical experience, help to integrate into the public working environment more quickly and effectively.

Thank you very much!

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/phat-huy-vai-tro-cua-tri-thuc-doanh-nhan-kieu-bao-20251114153240104.htm