On the morning of April 3, 2025, Mr. Le Minh Hoan – Member of the Party Central Committee and Vice Chairman of the National Assembly – visited at the VNU-RMIT Innovation Hub, VNU Information Technology Institute, as part of a field survey program conducted by the Standing Delegation of the National Assembly’s Committee on Science, Technology, and Environment to review the draft Law on Science, Technology, and Innovation.
On behalf of Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU), the delegation was welcomed and joined in discussions by VNU Vice Presidents Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hieu, Assoc. Prof. Pham Bao Son, and Assoc. Prof. Dao Thanh Truong.
At the Information Technology Institute, the delegation was received by Prof. Tran Xuan Tu – Director, Assoc. Prof. Le Hoang Son – Deputy Director, along with key scientists of the Institute.
During the working session, the delegation was introduced to the operational model of the VNU-RMIT Innovation Hub — a pioneering innovation space at VNU Hanoi, established through collaboration between RMIT University and the Information Technology Institute, VNU. The hub is dedicated to promoting interdisciplinary research, developing key technologies, and incubating scientific and technological products that serve the community and businesses.
Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Le Minh Hoan and other delegation members highly appreciated VNU Hanoi’s flexible and innovative approach in building a science-technology-innovation ecosystem. They acknowledged its role in realizing the Party and State’s major orientations on developing a knowledge-based economy, digital transformation, and the country’s industrialization and modernization.
The visit provided lawmakers with a deeper understanding of the practical implementation of scientific and innovation activities at key research and training institutions. This insight will contribute to refining policies and legal frameworks to meet new development requirements.
In his speech during the session, Prof. Tran Xuan Tu, Director of the Information Technology Institute, VNU, highlighted the inadequacies in science and technology (S&T) investment, particularly the misalignment between research funding allocation and infrastructure investment. He proposed a comprehensive investment mechanism to ensure that laboratory equipment aligns with research directions. Regarding the autonomy of S&T organizations, Prof. Tran Xuan Tu pointed out that the current tight control over research funding reduces flexibility and creativity. He advocated for greater autonomy, allowing research units to operate more like businesses, making independent decisions, and taking full responsibility for their outcomes. He emphasized the need to create conditions for universities to become “magnets” that attract enterprises and social resources, thereby fostering research collaboration and technology transfer more effectively.
