The event was jointly organised by the Ministry of Education and Training, the HCM Communist Youth Union Central Committee and the Can Tho municipal People's Committee.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the PM emphasised that entrepreneurship and innovation are crucial drivers and resources for sustainable development of every nation. Entrepreneurship requires passion, determination, perseverance and the courage to overcome obstacles and challenges to strive for success.

He said the National Student Entrepreneurship Festival, held annually since 2018, has become an intellectual playground where valuable ideas and scientific research are developed to foster the entrepreneurial aspirations of young people. It also provides a conducive environment to support students in shaping and realising their entrepreneurial ideas and projects.

After six years of implementation, the Government’s project on supporting student entrepreneurship by 2025 has achieved significant results, attracting over 3,000 start-up projects from students, involving more than 20,000 people.

By the end of 2023, there were 110 co-working spaces for startups in universities, with over 120 universities incorporating entrepreneurship and innovation as mandatory or selective courses. Ten training facilities have allocated funds to support student entrepreneurship.

The Network of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centres at universities and colleges have been established.

PM Chinh expressed pride in many Vietnamese students who have achieved high academic and scientific research results domestically and internationally and have been recruited by major technology companies worldwide such as Facebook, Space X, Google, and Quora.

He pointed out some limitations, notably the limited and fragmented startup ecosystem, and the gap compared to other countries in the region and the world. The implementation of support policies for student entrepreneurship has been slow and incubation and start-up activities in higher education institutions have not yet been deeply explored. The infrastructure and laboratory facilities are insufficient, and there is a shortage of counselling and support staff for start-ups.

The PM directed the Ministry of Education and Training, as well as various departments, sectors and localities, to conduct a comprehensive review and enhance appropriate mechanisms and policies to create a supportive environment and legal framework for students to embark on their entrepreneurial endeavours.

Chinh required further enhancing of links between universities, colleges and research centres equipped with modern facilities, which would help students research and create sample products and foster connections between different fields through the support of faculty members, lecturers and coordinators.

He also emphasised the connection between student entrepreneurship support centres in universities and vocational education institutions with local entrepreneurship centres and the connections between localities and universities to enhance project development and better address practical local issues.

The Government leader highlighted the need to foster a spirit of innovation and creativity in the education sector. He said it is crucial to establish entrepreneurship and innovation support centres in higher education institutions and vocational education facilities. There should be proposals to establish start-up project exchange platforms for students with enterprises.

Encouraging businesses and agencies to use products developed from startup projects and coordinating with educational institutions to provide career counselling, employment guidance, and startup support was paramount, he said. Shared experiential and creative startup spaces, actively involving students and lecturers in entrepreneurial activities to promote the commercialisation of research products are necessary.

PM Chinh noted the proactive allocation of resources for early establishment and improvement of the startup ecosystem, funds for science and technology development in higher education institutions, and expert and advisory networks.

He directed the investment in building standardised laboratories. Students should be provided with information on startup support policies, experiential activities and career orientation, he added.

The annual festival, part of the project to support pupils and students in launching their startups, includes various activities such as exhibitions on startups, forums and conferences on supporting start-ups in high schools, and the final round of a start-up contest for students.

Vietnam ranks third in Southeast Asia in startup investment attraction

Vietnam maintained its third position in the number of investment deals and regained the third place in terms of total investment in startups in Southeast Asia.

Bac Giang selected in top 3 outstanding localities in building startup ecosystem

BAC GIANG- The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) on December 21 organized the 2023 National Startup Forum in Hanoi. This is one of the activities towards 2024 Startup Festival. Permanent Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Bac Giang province (PPC) Mai Son attended the event.

Bac Giang contestant wins second prize at national Women's Startup Contest

BAC GIANG - On October 14, the Vietnam Women's Union organized a ceremony to award the finalists at the "Women’s Startup Contest, promoting indigenous resources" in 2023 and launch the contest "Women's creative startups and green transformation" in 2024.

Winners of women startup competition 2023 awarded

Winners of the women startup competition 2023 were awarded at a ceremony held by the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) Central Committee in Hanoi on October 14.

Bac Giang project enters final of National Women's Startup Contest

BAC GIANG - The Women's Startup Contest is one of the activities under the Project "Supporting women's startups in 2017 – 2025 period" approved by the Prime Minister on June 30, 2017. In 2023, the contest was launched by the Vietnam Women's Union in March with the theme "Women start businesses, promote indigenous resources".

Source: VNA