A researcher conducts experiments in her lab. — VNA/VNS Photo Thu Hương

HÀ NỘI — Businesses and investors find it difficult to turn research into commercial products due to policy issues, said a researcher. 

Phan Tiến Dũng, Head of the Department of Application & Development of Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, cites some recent government policies as a barrier to the commercialisation of research.

He cited Decree 70/2018 on Management and Use of Properties Derived from Science and Technology Research as an example, which stipulates that properties from State-funded research cannot be commercialised unless they are evaluated. 

As many businesses and investors in Việt Nam do not have experience in evaluating research properties, they hit a stumbling block when trying to commercialise them.

Legal inconsistencies make the situation even more complicated, he added.

Under the Law on Management and Use of Public Properties, revenues from the commercialisation of State-funded research will be returned to the State in proportion to its investment in the research.

Meanwhile, the Law on Science and Technology mandates that researchers enjoy at least 30 per cent of the revenues; and the Law on Intellectual Properties, 20 per cent.

"The legal inconsistencies hinder the commercialisation of research," said Dũng.

The department head suggests the government transfer the ownership of State-funded research outcomes to its commissioned agencies to facilitate research commercialisation.

Moreover, incentivising businesses to invest in science and technology, and organising training programmes to raise their awareness of research commercialisation is equally crucial.

Minister of Science and Technology Huỳnh Thành Đạt said on the grounds of Directive 25 on the Development of a Modern and Integrated Science and Technology Market issued by the Prime Minister on October 2023, the ministry will formulate a plan to develop science and technology markets in Hà Nội, HCM and Đà Nẵng cities, as well as some other areas if required.

The plan aims to foster ties among research institutions, universities and markets, thereby streamlining research commercialisation.

Đỗ Thành Long, Chief Secretariat of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said the ministry will launch a plan to put Directive 25 into action in 2024, which includes policies to foster the transformation of State-funded research into commercial products. 

Additionally, the ministry will take measures to enhance businesses' technology absorption capacity, facilitate innovative advancement, and bolster technology transfer. It will also draft revisions to four laws and submit five draft decrees on science and technology to the government for approval. 

With these plans, research commercialisation will see significant progress in 2024, strengthening ties among the State, businesses and researchers, said Long.

The Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology published 2,211 research papers and registered 76 patents in 2023, including three international patents.

However, it is not easy, as Dũng said, to turn the papers and patents into commercial products due to policy issues. — VNS