Rapid growth in research projects and publications

According to the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), in 2024, Vietnam’s scientific and technological capabilities in education have significantly improved.

Students at Phenikaa University conducting laboratory experiments.

Research personnel at MOET-affiliated institutions have made remarkable strides, with increases in the proportion of lecturers holding doctoral degrees, as well as in the number of scientific publications, patents, and intellectual property registrations.

Dr Vu Thanh Binh, Deputy Director of the Department of Science, Technology and Information under MOET, noted that universities have been directed to boost international publications in prestigious journals listed on Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus, raising the visibility of Vietnamese science globally.

Universities have also become more proactive in determining research directions and participating in scientific and technological tasks.

In 2024, Vietnamese researchers published 2,258 papers in WoS-indexed journals (Q1 and Q2 categories), 3,202 papers in Scopus-indexed journals, 730 papers in the ASEAN Citation Index (ACI), and 1,450 other international publications.

Domestically, 9,249 papers were published in reputable Vietnamese journals while 351 specialised monographs and 892 reference books were released.

Currently, two journals from MOET-affiliated units are indexed in Scopus, 15 journals are listed in ACI, and 10 journals meet the required quality and management standards.

MOET also approved 290 ministerial-level scientific and technological tasks to be implemented from 2025.

Student and young faculty involvement in research has been a key focus, aiming to nurture research passion and discover new talents. Approximately 30–35% of university students participate in scientific research, mainly from their third year onwards.

In 2024 alone, 536 student research projects from 95 universities participated in MOET’s annual student science and technology awards, alongside 47 young lecturers’ projects from 29 universities.

Leading institutions such as Viet Nam National University, Ha Noi, saw significant increases, publishing 1,992 papers in ISI/Scopus journals in 2024—an increase of 281 compared to 2023—with 64.3% in Q1 and Q2 categories.

Notably, Associate Professor Dr Le Duc Minh co-authored three papers in Nature, and Associate Professor Dr Le Thanh Ha’s team at the University of Engineering and Technology was granted a US patent for an eye-movement communication system (Blife).

Output-based approaches as a new benchmark

Despite these positive outcomes, MOET acknowledges that scientific research activities have not yet matched the sector’s full potential, particularly at major universities.

Most research projects remain small-scale and lack transformative impacts on socio-economic development. Financial mobilisation from outside the state budget, especially from businesses, remains limited.

While the number of international publications is rising, applied research and university-industry linkages are still underdeveloped, leading to challenges in commercialising research results.

Furthermore, state funding for research remains modest, and efforts to mobilise social resources have faced difficulties due to regulatory barriers.

To enhance scientific research quality and its application in practice, Associate Professor Dr Nguyen Thanh Thuy (Vietnam National University, Ha Noi) emphasised the need to train scientific leaders capable of producing early solutions to major national challenges.

He also highlighted the importance of a strong university–research institute–enterprise ecosystem.

Associate Professor Dr Mac Thi Thoa (Ha Noi University of Science and Technology) stressed the need for an environment where lecturers and students can maximise their creativity.

She called for long-term investment strategies and stronger partnerships with businesses and international collaborators to ensure research outputs meet real-world demands.

According to MOET, the education sector will shift towards an output-based approach for evaluating research quality, linking output to project approval and institutional performance.

Greater decentralisation, increased autonomy, and enhanced accountability in universities will be key pillars, alongside further legal reforms to promote science and technology development in higher education.

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son affirmed that science and research will be elevated to a strategic mission on par with teaching at universities.

The Ministry will focus on improving the legal framework, empowering university leaders to drive research agendas, and developing clear evaluation and ranking mechanisms to make research a true priority.