HÀ NỘI – The Vietnam National University-Hanoi (VNU) should take the lead in building Việt Nam into a start-up nation, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc told its managerial staff yesterday. 

Concerning VNU’s target of becoming a research-oriented university by 2030, the PM said VNU should link research with reality, considering start-ups as measurements of training quality.

The university should promote ideas and research projects ahead of technological and socio-economic trends in Asia, he noted.

However, to meet real demand and keep up with the start-up spirit, the university needs to bring knowledge into practice.

Tertiary education in Việt Nam, including in VNU, has yet to meet the real demand of businesses and the economy, he said, pointing out that 225,000 graduates are unemployed nationwide. He said this was a huge waste of social resources and stressed that education quality needs to head toward the start-up target.

He asked the university to adapt its research to reality, which can be seen through establishing and successfully operating enterprises, noting that research findings must satisfy the demand of businesses, develop the economy and serve socio-economic development.

Education and training have continually been prioritised, he affirmed, saying the sectors must proactively provide high-quality human resources for the country to achieve industrialisation, modernisation, and national development targets.

The PM said VNU has proved to be the top facility in the national tertiary education system, which now comprises 412 universities and junior colleges, and applauded its education and research that have both won national and international awards.

VNU is a State-owned tertiary education establishment housing multiple universities and institutes, including seven colleges and five faculties.

Later the same day, PM Phúc attended the launch of a programe encouraging youths’ involvement in creating start-ups in Hà Nội with the participation of more than 1,000 young people. - VNS