Vietnam currently holds the lead among the Association of South EastAsian Nations (ASEAN) countries which have carried out many scientificresearch and technological development projects in cooperation with theEuropean Union (EU). The success rate of EU-funded projects implementedby Vietnam is higher than the average of all EU-funded projects. TheVietnam Economic News reports.
At a recentinternational workshop "Strengthening EU-Vietnam Cooperation in Science,Technology and Innovation: Opportunities to Increase ResearcherMobility" in Hanoi, National Agency for Science and TechnologyInformation Director Le Xuan Dinh said that Vietnam was engaged in 36projects under the EU’s 7th Framework Program for Research andTechnological Development (FP7) with EU funds totaling EUR5 million.
Vietnam takes the lead among the Southeast Asian countries which havehad cooperation projects with the EU (the whole ASEAN region so far hashad 98 cooperative research projects with the EU).
Vietnam is the second largest recipient of the EU funds, after Thailand.It is also the largest recipient of the EU’s Marie Curie individualfellowships. Fifty Vietnamese researchers have received thesefellowships and joined in research activities at European universitiesand research institutes.
Dr. Simon Grimley, anEuraxess expert in Asia (Euraxess is a network of European andinternational researchers, scientists and scholars, which works onstrengthening research cooperation between Europe and Southeast Asia),said that Vietnam not only took the lead among the ASEAN countrieshaving cooperation projects with the EU but the success rate ofEU-funded projects implemented by Vietnam was rather high, standing at30 percent, while the average of all EU-funded projects was 17 percent.These are impressive results, reflecting Vietnam’s successfulinvolvement in EU-funded projects.
Like other ASEANmembers, Vietnam has taken an active part in EU-funded projects in awide range of fields such as natural resources and environment, food,agriculture, biotechnology, renewable energy and health care.
However, in Dinh's opinion, Vietnamese scientists can find moreopportunities to cooperate with the EU if they take the initiative inproviding information about their research capabilities. Actually, thetechnical capabilities of Vietnamese researchers and those from otherASEAN countries are very good, but they still lack the capability ofmaking the most of job opportunities.
“To work inscience like people in the rest of the world, one cannot just sit in aresearch institute or a laboratory but must seek out opportunities tocooperate with others to undertake research so that one can improve interms of skills and methodology and make use of modern researchfacilities to achieve the best research results,” said Dinh.
Grimley called upon Vietnamese scientists to come to Euraxess wherethey can be offered opportunities to seek cooperative research partnersfrom Europe. The EU’s FP7 will finish later this year and the EU willdevelop another science and technology programme entitled Horizon 2020.
He also encouraged Vietnamese scientists to seekthe EU’s Marie Curie individual fellowships to enjoy financial supportthroughout a 12-24 month research process.-VNA
