Minister of Science and Technology talks about General 'Hai Lua'

If the mechanism allows support at the same level as the Cambodian Government, people can certainly innovate right in their homeland - Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan shared with the press on the sidelines of the National Assembly on November 17.

- The story of Mr. Tran Quoc Hai and his son repairing armored vehicles in Cambodia, being promoted to General and receiving a large reward, is attracting a lot of public attention. According to the Minister, why can't people with such abilities be creative and contribute right in their own country?

Creativity, whether of scientists or ordinary people, is valuable. The question is whether there is a market for that creativity. If there is a market, if there are orders, those creations have the ability to be applied, utilized, and become products of society.

In the defense sector, repairing equipment and motorbikes is very important. I feel that our defense industrial factories are doing very well, there is no need to order from the people.

Minister Nguyen Quan. Photo: Minh Thang

Our policies in this area still have many shortcomings. The Government has issued a decree on initiatives since 2013, but due to problems in the legal system, resources to support people's initiatives and creativity are very difficult. There is no provision in the legal documents allowing state agencies to use the budget to directly support people, so we have to rely on socialization.

If the mechanism allows the State to support at the same level as the Cambodian Government, then surely our people can be creative right in their homeland.

The rate of PhDs working in science is not high.

- So what does the Minister think about the fact that our country has a complete system of universities and research institutes, a large number of professors and PhDs, but many real innovations related to working life and production come from farmers without degrees?

We must be very objective in recognizing that there are many products that have been successfully applied without being noticed. Our scientists have created many valuable products for the country. For example, the vaccine system, Vietnam is one of four countries in the world that can create a vaccine to prevent diarrhea.

Or we are mastering the design and manufacture of 90 meter and 120 meter self-elevating drilling rigs meeting international standards, and have successfully launched them, becoming one of three Asian countries to do so.

The successes of people without degrees are mentioned more often. That is something that should be encouraged. It is not that the Government or ministries do not care, but the mechanism is not suitable to support them to the maximum.

Is the number of professors and PhDs in Vietnam the largest in the region? There is no need to prove it, but certainly out of 25,000 PhDs, the percentage of people doing science is not high, and even fewer actually do science. Many people have switched to management and business...

I also affirm that many farmers, although they do not have degrees, are actually scientists. Because there are many people who do research and are more passionate than those who have degrees.

- But they reported that they were not encouraged, facilitated, and even made difficult. For example, people who built their own submarines were hindered when testing them.

In the field of national security and defense, people should cooperate with scientific and management agencies to do whatever they want. If they only build submarines for their families, to keep in their ponds and lakes, no one will stop them. But to test them at sea, or to build machines to test them in the sky, they must have permission from state management agencies, because they are related to the lives and properties of the people and the makers themselves, not to mention the issue of national security and defense.

They should cooperate closely with the management and scientific agencies from the beginning. Equipment and machinery must have regulations and standards, and if it is a means of transport, it must be inspected. That is mandatory.

The licensing authorities must base on standards and inspections to confirm the safety level. If we cooperate from the beginning, experts can inspect everything from the design to each weld and equipment, before being able to confirm the licensing and inspection.

Because the current budget for this is almost non-existent, many times people go to government agencies to seek financial support but fail to get it, and are disappointed and stop looking for it. But people must understand that financial support is only a part, the important thing is support in terms of policies and management regulations, so that their products can be licensed and circulated.

- But in reality, the annual budget for science and technology is never used up, so why not invest in such highly applicable research by the people?

Previously, the use of this budget had to be planned; anything that was not according to the budget could not be spent, and people's initiatives arose suddenly.

The revised Law on Science and Technology has a new point in the fund mechanism, which means that the budget estimate after being approved by the National Assembly will be allocated by the Government to science and technology funds. When tasks, topics, natural disasters, epidemics, or people's initiatives arise at any time, funding can be allocated for immediate implementation, without having to wait until next year. Waiting makes people frustrated, and scientists also feel that their topics are outdated.

According to Vietnamnet