Illustrative image (Source: VNA) The 30-month project,given the green light by Minister Chu Ngoc Anh late December, will targetoutstanding Vietnamese individuals in order to develop the domestic science andtechnology sector.
The project will enablescientists, businessmen and students studying in foreign countries to connectwith foreign experts in the science and technology sector so that domesticpartners can attract both Vietnamese and foreign experts to work in the sector.
Under its initialschedule, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia,Japan, Australia and Canada - all major centers for foreign Vietnamese - willbe major areas of the network.
The network wasscheduled to connect these people via an under-construction interactive websiteand international workshops, Anh said.
The website wouldprovide a database of about 25-50 Vietnamese senior experts and advisers, 100successful businessmen and about 3,000 experts in various aspects across theworld as well as 500 projects owned by domestic partners that want to recruitVietnamese experts overseas, he said.
The fund for theproject, worth 1.5 million USD, was drawn from the ministry’s FosteringInnovation through Research Science and Technology (FIRST) project.
The project aims toaccomplish the imperative of boosting the connection among Vietnamese expertsoverseas, domestic experts and partners. The brain drain is one of Vietnam’songoing challenges, and the country is in need of qualified human resources todevelop the national science and technology.
Ta Ba Hung, from theFIRST project, said at a workshop held in Hanoi on December 28 that itestimated over 400,000 well-educated Vietnamese overseas were living andworking in various sectors in foreign countries, encompassing hi-tech sectors.
“It is a big source ofgrey matter and management skills,” he said.
"However, only 200of them return to the country for teaching and research each year."
Hung said poorconnection among Vietnamese experts overseas and domestic experts was to blame.Additionally, shortage of information about the demand of “using” grey matterat domestic institutes, universities, and businesses also added to thesituation.
There was also a lack ofadequate policies to lure the talented Vietnamese overseas, he said.-VNA
