It is inevitable to utilise scientific and technological advances in linking sectors, regions, institutions and schools with businesses amid complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The national innovation system has been kickstarted with businesses playing the central role. However, Vietnam has yet to be fully ready for the fourth Industrial Revolution.
The year 2021 witnessed the marked developments of digital transformation and e-government, as well as the formation of a digital ecology connecting administrations with businesses and people, and the birth of a new generation of enterprises that run knowledge-based business.
Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Le Xuan Dinh said apart from pressures, the pandemic has presented opportunities for the application of scientific and technological advances and innovation.
Vietnam’s innovation startup ecology is developing strongly, creating the new generation of enterprises that are able to access the global market, he added.
The National Innovative Entrepreneurship Day (Techfest Vietnam 2021) lasted from September to December in both online and in-person formats, with 120 events.
Over 350 startups registered for the programme which featured 997 booths and 711 products. Some 100 investors wanted to pour 15 million USD in Vietnamese startups.
Along with the national startup portal, which is operating effectively, 13 cities and provinces have launched their own startup portals.
The Ministry of Science and Technology has also established a Hanoi-based centre to support innovation startups and is working to form a network of such centres in Hanoi, Da Nang and HCM City.
Vietnam ranked 44th out of 132 economies in the Global Innovation Index 2021 (GII 2021) which was announced by the United Nations’ World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Dinh said.
Its international publications also increased 2.5 percent from 2020 to reach 18,510 publications last year, which demonstrates the country’s efforts in scientific and technological research and innovation.
According to the Deputy Minister, Vietnam earmarked a record of over 1.3 billion USD for innovation startups despite the pandemic.
Startup initiatives need support of research institutes, universities, experts and scientists so that research results would be brought to life, Dinh stressed.
Source: Vietnam News Agency