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| General Secretary and President To Lam addresses the Viet Nam-Australia Techconnect Forum in Sydney, Australia, August 10, 2026. Photo: VNA |
The top Vietnamese leader made the suggestion while addressing the Viet Nam-Australia Techconnect Forum held in Sydney, Australia on Monday.
The event was jointly held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education and Training of Viet Nam, and the University of Technology Sydney on the occasion of General Secretary and President To Lam's State visit to Australia.
Alternate Member of the Party Central Committee and VNU President Bui The Duy, a member of the high-level Vietnamese delegation, delivered a presentation at the Forum entitled “Future-oriented cooperation under the Vietnam-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: Education, science, technology and innovation”.
At the Forum, General Secretary and President To Lam called on the two countries to shift from cooperation to co-creation, from technology transfer to joint research and development, from links among individual organizations to connecting innovation ecosystems.
Both sides should expand joint research programs, enhance partnerships between research centers, universities, innovation business and investment funds; establish joint research networks in such priority areas like artificial intelligence, semiconductors, digital technology, biotechnology, quantum technology, clean energy, strategic minerals, and marine economy.
Viet Nam and Australia should step up two-way investment in high-tech industries, formulate joint research and development centers and laboratories, business incubation programs, and commercially viable innovation projects.
The two countries should also work together to develop financial mechanisms to support joint research and share research risks towards co-development and co-investment.
The two countries should also expand cooperation in training high-quality human resources, especially engineers, scientists, technology experts, and innovation managers; step up the exchange of students and postgraduates; and formulate bilateral mechanisms and annual forums for policy dialogue and experience sharing and cooperation among three parties - the State, universities, and enterprises.
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| VNU President Bui The Duy, a member of the high-level Vietnamese delegation, delivered a presentation at the Forum entitled “Future-oriented cooperation under the Vietnam-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: Education, science, technology and innovation” |
From a higher education perspective, VNU President Bui The Duy’s presentation further translated this vision into concrete terms, emphasizing the need to advance Vietnam-Australia university cooperation beyond knowledge exchange and transfer towards joint research, technology development, and the progressive mastery of key technologies.
According to VNU President Bui The Duy, Vietnam is entering a new stage of development in which the country must move beyond the application of technology to strengthen its research and development capabilities, progressively master strategic technologies, and develop homegrown technological capabilities and products.
High-quality human resources are therefore becoming a decisive factor, particularly in such fields as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, digital technologies, biotechnology, new energy, and technologies for sustainable development.
These new development requirements also call for an important shift in international cooperation in education, science, technology and innovation: from student exchanges and joint training programmes towards jointly developing academic programmes, training doctoral researchers, establishing joint research groups, and cultivating high-quality human resources in priority areas.
In this process, President Bui The Duy noted that leading universities need to move beyond their traditional teaching role and become hubs where education, research, technology development, innovation and entrepreneurship converge, with the capacity to contribute to addressing major national challenges.
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“Vietnam is working towards developing a number of elite universities where education, research, technology development and entrepreneurship are integrated into a unified ecosystem capable of undertaking major national missions”, VNU President Bui The Duy emphasized.
This approach also highlights the increasingly prominent role of universities in the Vietnam-Australia cooperation framework: not merely as institutions for human resource development or recipients of knowledge, but as active actors in generating new knowledge and technologies and connecting innovation resources.
At the Forum, VNU President Bui The Duy proposed four key areas of cooperation for Vietnamese and Australian universities in the years ahead. First, developing joint education and training programmes aligned with the priority human resource needs of both countries. Second, expanding joint research programmes and establishing long-term platforms for cooperation in science, technology and innovation. Third, strengthening academic exchanges and connecting knowledge and research networks between our two countries. Fourth, strengthening connections between the science, technology and innovation ecosystems of our two countries.
At the Forum, VNU signed cooperation agreements with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and the Vietnamese Australian Scholars and Experts Association (VASEA). The agreements aim to promote exchanges of students, faculty members and researchers; advance joint research, academic programmes and international projects; and strengthen connections between VNU and the Vietnamese community of scholars and experts in Australia in key technology areas, scientific research and innovation.
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Building on more than three decades of cooperation, its multidisciplinary strengths and extensive network of international partners, VNU reaffirmed its readiness to engage more deeply in this process by proactively connecting universities, research institutes, businesses and the Australian academic and expert community. Through these efforts, VNU seeks to mobilize international knowledge and expertise in support of Vietnam’s strategic priorities, while making tangible contributions to deepening cooperation between the two countries in science, technology, innovation and human resource development.
