It is a true story that Canon Vietnam wants to increase the localization rate of cameras, printers, and photocopiers by reaching out to domestic companies to order ISO-standard screws. However, to date, there has not been a single domestic company that can produce them!
We can’t even produce a simple screw on our own!?
Science Detached from Life
Canon’s situation is similar to that of Vinamotor, where despite having dozens of doctoral theses on steel and mechanics, the country still cannot produce screws for motorcycles and cars that meet international standards (they strip as soon as you screw them in). Fortunately, in recent years, a joint venture with Canada in Khanh Hoa has specialized in screw production!
At a meeting between scientists and technology experts with Prime Minister Phan Van Khai at the end of September, many dedicated scientists reflected on the prevalent mindset of “science for the sake of science.” Numerous research projects waste billions only to end up in drawers, and even something as simple as “house numbering” has become a research topic!
There are plenty of research topics that are “far-fetched” and disconnected from the realities of life, while farmers still have to discard tens of thousands of tons of fresh fruit during harvest seasons and are helpless against livestock and poultry diseases that wipe out millions of animals.
Dr. Nguyen Van Khai – often referred to as the “scientist of farmers” – expressed concern that after the recent Storm No. 7, he wonders if any organizations or scientists have helped the people access clean drinking water. Because during the flooding in 1999, Dr. Khai and some colleagues directly produced clean water (using technology from the Vietnam Institute of Science and Technology) for flood-affected residents at a cost of only 40 VND per liter (they managed to produce 9 million liters in just three days).
Dr. Khai also raised the question: In regions affected by saltwater intrusion and where rice has died due to recent storms, what farmers need most are salt-tolerant rice seeds, sweet potato seeds, and corn seeds… Can scientists respond to this urgent plea?
In the field of inventions, according to the statistics from the Intellectual Property Office, 96-99% of registered applications and granted protection certificates in Vietnam from 1996 to now belong to foreigners. The reality is that most research results remain confined to laboratories and have not yet developed into complete technologies that can be transferred for production.
A Shift Towards Business Models is Urgent
The reasons behind the current weaknesses and paradoxes in Research and Development (R&D) in Vietnam primarily stem from management mechanisms.
The management of science and technology activities still focuses mainly on input factors, neglecting the management of output quality and the application of research results in practice. R&D tasks are not linked with the needs of socio-economic development.
Management of scientific and technological personnel in state-owned R&D institutions still follows a civil servant system, which limits the mobility and innovation of scientific and technological staff. We also lack policies to motivate and attract talented individuals.
The organizational structure of science and technology in Vietnam remains a subsidized administrative system from 30-40 years ago, which has created significant inertia and hinders scientific and technological development. Nearly 44% of state R&D institutions rely entirely on budget funding, while only about 19% are self-sufficient for operational costs (and even then, these are mostly service organizations for consulting and technology transfer).
The trend of separation between R&D institutions and universities, businesses, and managers is still at risk of increasing. The cumbersome and overlapping situation in a sector, where multiple R&D institutions undertake similar tasks and launch duplicate projects without collaboration, is quite common.
Meanwhile, the current economic management mechanism still maintains indirect subsidies, lacking effective policies to connect science and technology with production and business, and to encourage businesses to apply research results.
Professor-Dr. Tran Xuan Hoai, Director of the Institute of Applied Physics and Scientific Equipment, once stated in a meeting with the Prime Minister on September 24 that if only 2-3% of technology enterprises mature, society would gain significantly, as global experience shows that “technology enterprises are the best incubators for society.”
Quang Dong
