In recent times, the science and technology workforce has continuously strived, dedicated their intellect and efforts to advance science and drive economic growth.

An Important Resource for Economic Development

The development of science, technology, and innovation is a major, consistent, and cross-cutting policy of our Party, especially during the period of accelerating national industrialization and modernization. Many Party Congresses have determined that science, technology, and innovation are core elements among the strategic breakthroughs for national development.

Notably, the Resolution of the 13th Party Congress inherited, developed, and affirmed: Continue to consistently implement the policy that science and technology are a top national priority and a key driving force for developing modern productive forces, innovating the growth model, and improving productivity, quality, efficiency, and competitiveness of the economy.

At the same time, the Resolution states: Promote research, transfer, and application of scientific and technological advances and innovation, especially the achievements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution; "Continue to develop the science and technology market, support the commercialization of scientific and technological research results."

The Socio-Economic Development Strategy for the 2021-2030 period also identifies one of our country's strategic breakthroughs as "strongly developing science, technology, and innovation to create a breakthrough in improving productivity, quality, efficiency, and competitiveness of the economy."

On May 11, 2022, the Prime Minister signed Decision No. 569/QD-TTg promulgating the Strategy for the Development of Science, Technology, and Innovation until 2030. The Strategy once again affirms the role of science, technology, and innovation as a strategic breakthrough and a main driver of economic growth.

The Strategy clearly states that, alongside pursuing new technology development and expanding the technology frontier, it is necessary to focus on promoting the rapid application and diffusion of existing technologies into the economy, enhancing the capacity of enterprises to apply, absorb, and master technology, and strengthening their technology management, governance, and innovation capabilities.

In reality, in recent times, under the leadership of the Party and the management of the State, with the dedication, creative spirit, and persistent efforts of the science and technology workforce, along with increasingly deep cooperation from enterprises, science, technology, and innovation in our country have generated many modern scientific and technological achievements that have been rapidly applied in various fields of production, business, and social life.

According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, science and technology have played an important role, contributing to Vietnam's Total Factor Productivity (TFP) reaching 45% over the past five years, exceeding the National Assembly's target of 30-35%. The average labor productivity growth rate for the 2016-2020 period reached 5.88%/year, significantly higher than the 4.24%/year rate for the 2011-2015 period, making Vietnam the country with the highest labor productivity growth in the ASEAN bloc and one of the countries with high labor productivity growth in Asia.

Furthermore, in recent years, Vietnam's GII index results have consistently shown positive improvement. For 12 consecutive years, Vietnam has achieved innovation output higher than its level of development, demonstrating efficiency in converting input resources into innovation output.

In 2022, Vietnam ranked 48th out of 132 countries/economies in the Global Innovation Index, holding the 3rd position in Southeast Asia, after Singapore and Thailand. Vietnam is also one of the few lower-middle-income countries recognized by WIPO as having the fastest rate of catching up in innovation.

Many new and advanced technologies have been created, acquired, mastered, and applied in enterprises, contributing to enhancing the economy's competitiveness and creating favorable conditions for effectively participating in global supply chains.

Reaping Many "Sweet Fruits" in Research

Sharing with a reporter from the Cong Thuong Newspaper, Mr. Pham Duc Nghiem, Deputy Director of the Department of Market and Enterprise Development for Science and Technology (Ministry of Science and Technology), affirmed that despite a difficult economic context and limited investment in science and technology, Vietnam has still achieved a high ranking in the innovation index. Moreover, science and technology products have achieved impressive figures, with many good products even leaving their mark on the global technology map.

For example, our country has become one of the 4 countries in the world to produce the Rotavirus diarrhea vaccine; it is one of 10 countries globally and 3 Asian countries to design and build drilling rigs meeting international standards, for 90m and 120m water depths.

Or, at the 11th World Rice Trade Conference held in the Philippines (from November 10-13, 2019), the ST25 rice variety, created and developed by a group of scientists from Soc Trang province including engineer Ho Quang Cua, Dr. Tran Tan Phuong, and engineer Nguyen Thu Huong, was recognized as the "World's Best Rice 2019." Similarly, many inventions by Viettel have been granted exclusive protection certificates by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)...

"Alongside the achievements and results of public research institutes, in recent times, there has also been a rise of the private sector with numerous works and research results from private institutes and individual innovators that have made significant marks and contributions to the socio-economy" - Mr. Pham Duc Nghiem emphasized.

Dr. Phan Dang Phong, Director of the National Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering (NARIME), affirmed that to date, the capacity of the Institute's staff has made a leap forward, not only in research and design but also possessing sufficient capability to act as the EPC or EPCM general contractor for many fields.

"From the success of the first project, NARIME, together with domestic mechanical units, has self-reliantly designed and manufactured hydro-mechanical equipment for over 29 medium and large hydropower projects in the country, including the Son La (2,400 MW) and Lai Chau (1,200 MW) hydropower plants" - Dr. Phan Dang Phong cited as an example.

Notably, the success of these projects has created more jobs for the domestic mechanical engineering industry, generating revenue of about VND 8,000 billion from this segment, contributing to reducing product costs from USD 4.4/kg to USD 1.5/kg, and especially contributing to the early power generation by 3 years for the Son La Hydropower Plant and 1 year for the Lai Chau Hydropower Plant.

Furthermore, the National Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering has gradually mastered the technology for designing and manufacturing electrostatic precipitator systems, ash and slag disposal systems, coal handling systems, and fire protection systems for thermal power plants such as Vung Ang 1, Thai Binh 1, Song Hau 1, and Nghi Son 2.

In particular, the project to research, design, manufacture, integrate, and successfully put into operation the coal handling and transportation system for the Song Hau 1 Thermal Power Plant, with a localization rate of 50.6%, equivalent to technological equipment from G7 countries, is the first such project implemented domestically, opening a new development direction for the domestic manufacturing mechanical engineering industry.

On the other hand, NARIME has rapidly deployed research and development of high-tech products following the 4.0 technology direction, focusing on automatic production lines and smart warehouses suitable for the development orientation of the digital economy, demonstrating agility in developing scientific products and continuously improving the ability to meet market demands. Most recently, the Institute designed, manufactured, and successfully put into operation an automatic product sorting system at a logistics enterprise.

This automatic product sorting system can operate continuously during an 8-hour work shift, recording a capacity of approximately 7,500 products/hour (equivalent to about 60,000 products/day). In reality, at the time of testing and official operation, it was not yet the peak season. According to calculations, if operating at maximum capacity, the system can handle up to 70,000 products/day.

Prof. Dr. Chau Van Minh, President of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, shared that the Academy is one of the leading units in the country in terms of international publications, with thousands of articles published annually (1,613 articles in 2020, of which 1,281 met SCI/SCI-E standards; 1,607 articles in 2021, of which 1,324 met SCI/SCI-E standards). Many published works by the Academy's scientists appear in highly prestigious international journals with high impact factors.

To date, on average, each PhD holder achieves one international publication meeting ISI standards. Many scientific works of the Academy have been honored with major domestic awards such as: Ho Chi Minh Prize, State Prize, Ta Quang Buu Prize, Tran Dai Nghia Prize, and international awards such as Ramanujan, L'Oreal Prize, and Kovalevskaia Prize.

In recent years, the Academy has also consistently led in the number of patents and utility solutions, accounting for a large proportion of Vietnam's total, with approximately 40-50 patents and utility solutions granted annually. "The Academy has received the award 'Leading Innovator in South and Southeast Asia' (Government Research Organization category) from the world-renowned science and technology database organization Clarivate, United Kingdom, for two consecutive years (2020 and 2021)" - Prof. Dr. Chau Van Minh stated.

Article 2: A Journey Full of Hardships: https://congthuong.vn/khoi-dong-chay-thuong-mai-hoa-cong-nghe-bai-2-hanh-trinh-con-lam-gian-nan-245248.html

Article 3: The "Core" Role of Hoa Lac High-Tech Park:  https://congthuong.vn/khoi-dong-chay-thuong-mai-hoa-cong-nghe-bai-3-vai-tro-hat-nhan-tu-khu-cong-nghe-cao-hoa-lac-245330.html

Article 4: Removing Policy "Bottlenecks": https://congthuong.vn/khoi-dong-chay-thuong-mai-hoa-cong-nghe-bai-4-go-diem-nghen-ve-chinh-sach-245350.html

Source: Cong Thuong Newspaper