Lost 800 million VND for a scientific article published in an international journal

This was affirmed by Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Quoc Khanh at the 48th session of the National Assembly Standing Committee this morning.

This morning, the National Assembly Standing Committee (NASC) held a meeting to give opinions on the report on the initial results of the supervision of the special topic on the effectiveness of the implementation of policies and laws on science and technology development to promote industrialization and modernization in the 2005-2015 period and development orientation for the next period, focusing on promoting supporting industries and mechanical engineering.

Assessing the implementation of the science and technology development strategy, the report presented by Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Science, Technology and Environment, Head of the monitoring delegation Phan Xuan Dung, said that the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 272/2003/QD-TTg approving the Science and Technology Development Strategy of Vietnam to 2010 (December 31, 2003), Decision No. 418/QD-TTg approving the Science and Technology Development Strategy for the period 2011-2020 (April 11, 2012).

Accordingly, after 10 years of implementation, a number of important targets set out in the Strategy have been achieved, as follows: The value of high-tech products and high-tech applied products has increasingly contributed to the gross domestic product (GDP) in the 2011-2013 period, with the contribution ratios by year being 11.7%; 19.1% and 28.7%, respectively; the rate of innovation of technology and basic equipment has achieved the strategic target, reaching 10.68%/year.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Quoc Khanh.

The total number of articles and scientific works published internationally by Vietnam in the 2011-2015 period was 11,738, 2.2 times higher than in the 2006-2010 period, with an average growth rate of 19.5% per year, reaching a high level compared to the Strategy's target.

Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry continue to be Vietnam's strengths, accounting for 40% of total international publications in the past 5 years. In Mathematics alone, we have the highest number of international publications in Southeast Asia.

In terms of total international publications in the 2011-2015 period, we ranked 59th in the world (compared to 66th in the 2006-2010 period and 73rd in the 2001-2005 period) and 4th in Southeast Asia, after Singapore (32nd in the world), Malaysia (38th) and Thailand (43rd).

Referring to the number of patents registered for protection in Vietnam, the Head of the monitoring delegation said that the number of patents registered for protection in the 2011-2015 period increased 1.5 times compared to the 2006-2010 period, and the 2016-2020 period increased 2 times compared to the 2011-2015 period.

In the period 2011-2015, the number of protected inventions and utility solutions increased by 62% compared to the period 2006-2010. Specifically, the number of applications for protection of inventions and utility solutions in the period 2011-2015 was 22,674 (the period 2006-2010 was 15,989); the number of protection certificates of inventions and utility solutions in the corresponding periods were 6,391 and 3,940.

According to the report, the number of scientific research and technological development staff has not yet reached the set target. Specifically, the Strategy's target: The number of scientific research and technological development (R&D) staff will reach 9-10 people/10,000 people by 2015 and 11-12 people/10,000 people by 2020.

Meanwhile, according to the 2014 survey results, the whole country had 164,744 people participating in R&D activities (14 people/10,000 people), of which the number of research staff with college and university degrees or higher was 112,430 people.

If converted to full-time equivalent (FTE), the number of R&D staff in Vietnam is only 7 people/10,000 people. Although Vietnam's R&D human resources have increased in recent years, it is still very low compared to developed countries, both in absolute value and in proportion to population, and the quality of human resources is also limited.

"Some strategic targets have not been achieved and are unlikely to be achieved because the requirements are too high compared to the current situation and capacity of the domestic S&T organization system, due to limitations in investment, finance and lack of synchronization between related mechanisms and policies," the report stated.

Regarding the figures mentioned in the report on articles and scientific works published internationally, Ms. Le Thi Nga, Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Judicial Committee, raised the question: "Recently, public opinion has been stirred up about doctoral training. Because it is related to the budget, I would like to ask how much money has been spent on this to have the number of articles and works published internationally? As for the Academy, during the supervision period, how many were published and how much money was spent?"

Answering the above question, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Quoc Khanh said that recently, the number of registrations for publication has increased and the significant increase is through the support of the National Science and Technology Development Fund, increasing by 30% annually.

As required, all of these international publications are outputs with 2 articles published in prestigious journals. The National Foundation for Science and Technology Development must basically support basic research: mathematics, physics, chemistry,...

“Vietnam is very strong in this, the number of publications has increased significantly. Every year, the fund is allocated 300 billion VND to support basic research in natural sciences and social sciences. On average, an article published in a prestigious international journal is 800 million VND/article. As for the Academy, we will report later,” said the Deputy Minister.

According to Infonet.vn