Scientific seminar “Institutional Frameworks for Promoting the Transformation of Science, Technology, and Innovation into Direct Productive Forces in Vietnam: Current Situation and Emerging Issues in the New Era”

The seminar was organized as part of a key ministerial-level research project for the 2025–2027 period entitled “Improving the Institutional Framework for Innovation and the Transformation of Science and Technology into Direct Productive Forces in Vietnam’s New Era.”

Assoc. Prof.Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Toan, Director of the Institute of Political Economy, and Dr. Hua Tan Hung, Rector of the Lao Cai Provincial School of Politics co-chaired the seminar

Assoc. Prof.Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Toan, Director of the Institute of Political Economy delivered the concluding remarks at the seminar

In her introductory remarks at the seminar, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Thi Tuy, Deputy Director of the Institute of Political Economy emphasized that as the country enters a new era of development, science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation have become important drivers of growth. However, for these resources to truly become direct productive forces, the decisive factor lies not only in technology or human resources, but also in the quality of the institutional system. The institutional framework therefore needs to be further improved in a development-oriented manner, with a focus on unlocking and connecting resources and creating a favorable environment in which knowledge can be rapidly transformed into technology, technology into productivity, and innovation into a driving force for socio-economic development.

At the seminar, delegates focused on discussing a number of important issues, including clarifying the theoretical foundations of science, technology, and innovation as direct productive forces; assessing the current institutional framework for the development of science, technology, and innovation in Vietnam and at the local level, particularly in Lao Cai Province; analyzing bottlenecks in linkages among the State, enterprises, research institutes, and universities; and identifying limitations in financial mechanisms, intellectual property, the commercialization of research results, and the development of the science and technology market. The delegates also proposed institutional reforms to accelerate digital transformation, strengthen the innovation ecosystem, and enhance the competitiveness of the economy.

Delegates took group photos at the seminar

In his concluding remarks at the seminar, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Toan, Director of the Institute of Political Economy affirmed that the presentations and discussions had provided a wealth of valuable scientific and practical evidence. Delegates agreed that, in the new era, institutions must become a resource for development, a driving force for unleashing creativity, and an important source of national competitiveness. They also emphasized the need to continue renewing institutional thinking toward a development-oriented approach, place enterprises at the center of the innovation ecosystem, develop in a coordinated manner the science and technology market, the data market, intellectual property assets, and policy experimentation mechanisms, thereby promoting the transformation of science, technology, and innovation into direct productive forces.

The outcomes of the seminar will be consolidated, reviewed, and refined by the Project team to support the completion of the key ministerial-level research project. They will also provide additional scientific and practical evidence for research, policy advisory work, and policy recommendations aimed at improving the institutional framework for the development of science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation.