Vietnamese higher education reaches out, making a mark on the world map
The determination to build a number of elite universities has been identified by the Party and State as a strategic task in many resolutions and national programs.
At the 120th Anniversary of the Traditional Day of Indochina University - the predecessor of Vietnam National University, Hanoi on May 16, General Secretary and President To Lam emphasized that an elite university must be measured by academic quality, capacity to create new knowledge, train talents, develop strategic technology, make practical contributions to the country and be recognized internationally for its prestige.
According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thanh Nam, Vice Rector of the University of Education (Vietnam National University, Hanoi), higher education in Vietnam currently has many favorable conditions to move towards the elite university model.
First of all, the policy and guidelines are relatively clear when the Party and State determine that it is necessary to focus on investing in a number of higher education institutions to become science, technology and innovation centers on a regional and international level. The Ministry of Education and Training has also proposed developing 3-5 elite universities according to the world-class research university model by 2035.
In addition, many key universities have taken the lead in the roadmap for autonomy, improving training quality and expanding international cooperation. Vietnam currently has about 25 schools ranked in the QS Asia 2026 table, of which Hanoi National University and Ho Chi Minh City National University are both in the leading group.
Some schools have built training programs, modern laboratories and strong research groups; many programs meet international accreditation standards. The research team has also gradually improved with more than 13,000 research students studying and about 1,200 PhDs graduating each year.
The reality of university autonomy also shows many positive results. Some schools, after implementing the autonomy mechanism, have opened new training majors, strengthened international cooperation, improved the quality of lecturers and improved income for the teaching staff, etc.
However, according to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thanh Nam, higher education in Vietnam still faces many challenges if it wants to form truly elite universities. First of all, there is a shortage of high-quality scientific human resources. The proportion of lecturers with doctoral degrees is still low compared to many developed countries, affecting research and in-depth training capacity. The discovery, attraction and training of incoming talents has not yet met the requirements, while talent training programs or high-quality programs are not enough to ensure a stable source of excellent students.
Another difficulty is that investment in research and development is still limited. Science and technology infrastructure, laboratories and financial mechanisms for research are not synchronized, while the link between universities and businesses is still unsustainable. This makes many research results not transferred and applied in practice. In addition, the mechanism for governance and implementation of university autonomy is still problematic; many regulations on finance, recruitment or accreditation are still rigid, limiting flexibility and creativity in university governance.
Need for breakthroughs from internal strength to transform into elite universities
To transform into elite universities, he believes that universities need to make breakthroughs from internal resources. First of all, it is necessary to innovate governance towards autonomy, transparency and management based on output results. Universities need to be more proactive in recruiting personnel, innovating training programs and using resources. Along with that, it is necessary to build policies to attract and develop talents through scholarships, research support funds, international cooperation and a professional academic environment.
Schools also need to focus on developing peak research, forming excellent research centers in strategic fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biotechnology, new energy or big data. Postgraduate training must be closely linked to scientific research, while promoting technology transfer and cooperation with businesses.
Besides the efforts of each educational institution, experts believe that the role of the State is a decisive factor. Accordingly, there needs to be a special mechanism and strategic investment for some key universities, instead of spreading resources. Schools need to be given higher autonomy in academics, finance, recruitment and international cooperation, accompanied by a transparent accountability mechanism.
In addition, it is necessary to improve policies to promote links between universities, research institutes and businesses; encourage socialization, develop non-profit university models and expand international cooperation. Upgrading accreditation standards, publicizing training quality and promoting international academic integration are also important conditions to enhance the prestige of Vietnamese universities.
Building elite universities is a long-term process, requiring synchronous coordination between schools and the State. The ultimate goal is not only to improve international rankings, but more importantly to create training, research and innovation centers capable of making substantial contributions to the sustainable development of the country" - Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thanh Nam emphasized.
