In his speech on socio-economic development orientations for the coming period, General Secretary and President To Lam emphasized the requirement to maintain high and sustainable growth to overcome the risk of lagging behind and avoid the middle-income trap.
According to General Secretary and President To Lam, Vietnam cannot continue to develop in the old way, because "not going faster will be lagging behind". In that journey, science and technology, innovation and digital transformation are identified as new growth drivers, as "strategic levers" for the country to break through.
To escape the middle-income trap, you must escape the middle-tech trap.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Dinh Duc - University of Technology, Vietnam National University, Hanoi - said that the General Secretary and President's message on considering science and technology, innovation and digital transformation as a "strategic lever" has touched the core issue of Vietnam's current development model.
According to Mr. Duc, to reach higher levels in the global value chain, Vietnam cannot continue to rely mainly on traditional input factors but must rely on knowledge, technology, labor productivity, innovation and the ability to master core technology.
What is very important in the guiding ideology of the General Secretary and President is that science and technology is no longer seen as a supporting field, but must become the central driving force of national development. This is a very fundamental change in thinking" - Professor Nguyen Dinh Duc assessed.
According to Professor Duc, in the context of artificial intelligence, semiconductors, new materials, biotechnology, new energy and digital transformation are reshaping the global development order, countries that master high technology and core technology will have a strategic advantage. Conversely, countries that only passively import and apply technology will find it very difficult to create a leap forward.
Mr. Duc emphasized that to escape the middle-income trap, Vietnam must escape the middle-income technology trap (only participating in stages with low added value, lack of design, creativity, mastery and commercialization of technology).
Not only the story of laboratories or research institutes, science and technology today has become an issue directly related to national competitiveness, growth quality, economic security, technological security and Vietnam's position in the world that is being strongly restructured.
Remarkable progress
Looking from the perspective of science and technology and innovation, Vietnam has made remarkable progress in recent years.
Many fields such as mathematics, physics, mechanics, materials science, information technology, artificial intelligence, biomedicine, high-tech agriculture, telecommunications and digital transformation have formed strong research groups with international integration capabilities. The team of young scientists is increasingly deeply involved in the global research network. Many universities are also shifting from traditional training models to research and innovation universities.
In the business sector, according to information from the Ministry of Science and Technology, many pioneering models have appeared in the fields of software, telecommunications, big data, AI, e-commerce and digital services. Businesses such as Viettel, FPT, Vingroup or many emerging technology companies are gradually investing in research and development, participating more deeply in strategic technology fields.
However, if compared with leading countries in the region such as: Singapore, South Korea, Japan or China, Vietnam's gap is still quite large.
According to Professor Nguyen Dinh Duc, the current limitations are reflected in the low level of investment in research and development, the limited number of international patents, the ability to master core technology is not strong, the linkage between universities, research institutes and businesses is still loose, while the science and technology market has not developed commensurate with its potential.
Our biggest weakness is not the lack of intelligent people or lack of aspirations. The problem lies in the ecosystem" - Mr. Duc said.
That is the ecosystem in which scientists need modern laboratories, flexible mechanisms and stable funding; businesses need long-term capital, new product testing mechanisms and access to high-quality human resources; while universities need to be granted sufficient autonomy to become knowledge and technology innovation centers.
The most important thing now is to turn major policies into specific resources, specific mechanisms and specific products to avoid the situation where very good resolutions are implemented slowly and lack breakthroughs. Resolution 57 has set out a new development mindset, in which science and technology, innovation and digital transformation are no longer supporting fields but become the central driving force of growth.
The path for Vietnam to become a developed high-income country will not be decided by resources or cheap labor, but by the ability to master science and technology and innovation.
In the increasingly fierce global technology race, laboratories today are not only places to create research projects, but also places to form core technologies, technology businesses and new growth drivers for the country.
