HCM CITY — The Government should have specific measures to enhance collaboration between academia and businesses so that more research can be converted into practical technology, a workshop heard in HCM City on Wednesday.

Speaking at the Việt Nam – Korea industry collaboration frameworks workshop, Assoc Prof Dr Lê Hoài Quốc, head of the Saigon Hi-Tech Park’s management board, said the Government has policies to support businesses and scientists do research, but there are no tools to foster links between scientists and businesses.

Ninety per cent of enterprises in HCM City are micro- or small-sized ones and lack the financial and human resources for R&D, he said.

In South Korea too SMEs have insufficient resources, but the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology offers them great support, he said.

Prof Dr Nguyễn Kỳ Phùng, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Science and Technology, said there is a big gap between schools and research institutes and enterprises.

The city has always focused on commercialisation of scientific research and technology transfer between research institutes and businesses, but the results have not met expectations, he said.

When schools and institutes want to develop the market for their technologies or find partners to commercialise their scientific research ideas, they come up against policy-related hurdles, he said.

Businesses meanwhile focus on short-term commercial goals instead of long-term investment in technology and research, he said.

The country should learn from others such as South Korea and Japan to draft practical support policies to shrink the gap between academia and businesses, delegates said.

Assoc Prof Dr Nguyễn Tấn Tiến of the HCM City University of Technology said there is close collaboration between academia and the manufacturing sector in South Korea.

A large number of Vietnamese researchers studied in South Korea and now work in almost all industries in HCM City, and this is a big advantage in establishing close collaboration, especially between South Korea and HCM City in the field of technology transfer, he said.

He called on relevant authorities to draw up policies to enhance the collaboration in engineering research and technology between South Korea and Việt Nam, especially in industrial applications.

There is a need to have a model for effective collaboration, and the establishment of a Joint Business Promotion Centre at the Saigon Hi-Tech Park with the participation of universities is needed to accelerate the collaboration between HCM City and South Korea, he said. — VNS