Creating a startup ecosystem
Not stopping at academics, startups, and innovation are also a spearhead that Hanoi University of Science and Technology has promoted over the years.
Dr. Truong Cong Tuan - Director of the Center for Innovation and Student Experience of Hanoi University of Science and Technology - shared that in order for scientific research activities to be practical and applied to life, in addition to the team of lecturers, experts, and researchers, there is also the participation of businesses, thereby enhancing connections, helping to find businesses interested in the research field of the topics.
According to the school's statistics, the total number of students participating in scientific research in the 2020 - 2024 period is 5,889. In 2024 - 2025 alone, there will be 1,545 students, an increase of 10.5% compared to last year.
At Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (VNU-HCM), innovation in the student and lecturer team has been implemented since 2010. The school has many student support programs and has built a documentary curriculum for teaching among mass students, with an ecosystem to support students in starting a business.
"In the coming time, with the implementation of Resolution 57, the school will continue to promote start-up support activities through the school's venture capital funds as well as calling for investment from outside.
This is a traditional strength because the school has a business system of more than 150,000 alumni, many of whom are successful in the technology field, large business entrepreneurs with diverse activities suitable for the school's training field" - Prof. Dr. Mai Thanh Phong - Principal of the school - informed.
Establishing a Center to support start-up innovation to arouse the entrepreneurial spirit in each student is the way that Thuy Loi University Branch has implemented in recent times.
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Dang Tinh - Deputy Director of the University of Water Resources Branch - said that for each topic that students participate in and win prizes for, they will be awarded additional incentive points during the theoretical learning process and the support budget is 1.2 million VND/student.
Students are given topics while still in class. From there, they will have a foundation in science and technology, innovative startups right in the field they are interested in and researching.
The school has been successful in receiving orders from the locality as well as transferring science and technology to the locality, such as: Application in preventing and combating salinity intrusion and adapting to climate change; Treatment and reuse of wastewater for agriculture and industry; Design and construction of dykes, dams, irrigation systems; model of river basin simulation and optimization of water resource management...
"The scientific and technological achievements of the University of Water Resources Branch have brought a positive and clear impact to the development of the Irrigation sector, contributing to ensuring water resource safety, economic development and environmental protection for the Southern region" - Mr. Tinh said.
Forum connecting businesses and students
Prof. Dr. Le Quan - Director of Hanoi National University - acknowledged that each scientist and student needs to build for themselves research ideas for products with the goal of bringing added value, creating value for society, creating job opportunities for the community.
To realize those ideas, there needs to be a forum, a place to connect businesses, management experts, with scientists and students, with the goal of managing and operating, building new businesses and corporations, bringing research products from the lab to the market.
"The selected research products need to be linked to practice, can be commercialized and create values for society" - Mr. Quan said.
Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan - National Assembly delegate of Hanoi City - acknowledged that higher education institutions play a particularly important role, contributing to the development of Vietnam's innovation ecosystem.
The mission of universities is to provide human resources with appropriate skills through teaching; promote scientific and technical progress, transfer knowledge, new technology, provide entrepreneurship skills and innovation...
Affirming that innovation and startup centers at universities are a nursery for developing students' skills, abilities and startup projects, Ms. Lan said: "Innovation is becoming a decisive factor for the competitiveness of domestic and international universities".
