PM Pham Minh Chinh visting NIC office

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited the Vietnam National Innovation Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) in Hanoi on March 4.

PM Chinh said the building of the centre was a necessary and timely move to achieve the goals set by the 13^th National Party Congress, including turning Vietnam into a developing country with a modernity-oriented industry that surpasses the lower-middle income level by 2025.

"The NIC should become a rendezvous of intellectuals from around the world to create resources for spreading the benefits and values of innovation to the entire society," said PM Chinh. "To do this, mechanisms, policies, resources, efforts, and dedication are required."

The government leader told the MPI to coordinate with ministries, sectors, and agencies to create a favourable legal framework for the centre to operate effectively and develop an innovation ecosystem.

"The relevant parties should establish a fund for encouraging innovation, perfect an innovation centre model suitable for Vietnam, invest in infrastructure and equipment to guarantee research and innovation activities, digitalise the NIC’s operations, and connect the NIC with the national database system to build big databases and AI," he said.

PM Chinh and ministers at the NIC

Approved by the PM in 2019, the NIC is invested with VND4.04 trillion ($10.3 million) and is now undergoing final touches. The 35-hectare centre is set up with the aim of supporting and developing startup and innovation ecosystems in Vietnam. Once operational, it is expected to be a location for domestic and international innovation enterprises, laboratories, and offices of major businesses, as well as leading experts and scientists.

After three years of operation, the NIC has seen some major outcomes. First, the centre has formed an innovation ecosystem made up of the state, institutes/ schools, enterprises, and related entities like support centres, incubators, networks of experts, intellectuals, funds, and financial organisations.

It has also developed the Vietnam Innovation Network with nearly 1,600 Vietnamese experts and intellectuals working at technology corporations, and leading institutes/schools in the world, ready to participate and contribute to technology and innovation activities and projects in Vietnam.

Secondly, the centre has implemented many activities to support enterprises in innovation, including facilities, incubation, capacity building, capital access, and providing solutions.

Thirdly, NIC has carried out numerous programmes to support and improve innovation capacity at local institutes and universities, and to coordinate with major international universities to provide training courses on innovation.

Minister Nguyen Chi Dung

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said that Vietnam was the first country to build a national innovation centre. Other countries have innovation centres, but they serve the goals of the corporations and localities, not the general development of the country.

With eight major areas - smart factories, smart cities, digital communication, environmental technology, cybersecurity, semiconductors, healthcare, and green hydrogen - they have received support from ministries and agencies to build an ecosystem to meet the development of the country. However, at present, there are no specific mechanisms and policies for innovation and attracting intellectuals and scientists to build the country.

"We have a great wealth of Vietnamese people who are well-trained in advanced economies in the world, working in the world's leading corporations, companies, and institutes. So, the NIC has been developing an innovation network with eight component networks in the United States, Germany, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, among others," Dung added.