Stemming from the Ministry of Education and Training's policy, many universities have formed strong research teams, key research.

Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Son (standing) of the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City's strong research team is discussing the topic.

The formation of these research teams has created a "nudge" for the development of scientific research and contributed significantly to the improvement of the training quality of higher education institutions.

Contributing a lot to scientific research​

According to Dr. Nguyen Trung Nhan (Head of Office of Academic Affairs, Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City (IUH)), the Ministry of Education and Training's policy in forming strong research teams and key research is essential and appropriate. It would contribute to the development of scientific research in universities in particular and the country's economy in general.

"Implemented since 2019, IUH currently has nearly 40 strong research teams, including about eight major teams in fields such as Mechanical Technology - Automation, Chemistry - Biology - Environment, Information Technology (IT), Electrical Engineering Technology - Electronics Technology. The research teams have contributed to IUH's scientific publications, research, and technology transfer topics. In 2020, IUH published more than 400 articles in the ISI / Scopus Journal list, of which the number of articles published by the strong research teams was about 1/4 ..."- Dr. Nguyen Trung Nhan shared.

Similarly, the HCMC University of Technology and Education (HCMUTE) formed the first key research team in 2013, so far, the university has 13 research teams for most scientific and technical fields. According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoang An Quoc, forming strong research teams is an inevitable trend. Combining the strong research teams well will solve the research tasks of macro scale, especially in the 4.0 era.

"The number of scientific articles published in prestigious international journals has increased significantly every year, the HCMUTE had 36 articles in 2013, by 2020, it increased to 141 articles. The number of projects at the Nafosted Fund, at ministerial and provincial levels, in the 2015 - 2020 period increased compared to the 2010 - 2015 period. Since then, the university's scientific reputation has also been raised to a new height compared to the previous period, proved by the Google scholar rankings, the Chemical and Food Technology research team's Bao Son award in 2019. Besides, the research teams' effectiveness also plays an active role in training with two Ph.D. students successfully defended, one qualified professor in 2020 of the Construction group…"- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoang An Quoc shared.

In the implementation of the Ministry of Education and Training's policy, in 2018, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education (HCMUE) established two strong research teams. The first research team is the Computational physics about atoms and molecules in electromagnetism, led by Prof. Dr.Sc Le Van Hoang with seven members. The second research team is the Educational psychology, led by Prof. Dr. Huynh Van Son with eight members.

Prof. Dr. Huynh Van Son (Vice-Rector of HCMUE) stated that the research team of Computational physics of atoms and molecules in electromagnetism had made outstanding achievements with nearly 40 prestigious international scientific publications. The research team of Educational psychology timely implemented two national-level scientific topics in the National Science Education Program; led a national-level scientific project of the Nafosted Fund which was accepted in 2020; completed two city-level scientific projects; completed two ministry-level science and technology projects; and successfully defended three liquidity projects - funding sources and many other subjects has been ordered by the institution.

A path for strong research teams to develop​

Besides public higher education institutions, strong research teams in non-public higher education institutions also make breakthroughs in scientific research. Dr. Vo Van Tuan (Vice-Rector of Van Lang University (VLU)) said that 24 strong research teams of the university operate very effectively. All are involved in the university's scientific research development through the 1000 Project.

"Strong research teams have registered 253 international publications (on average, each team has registered about 10.5 articles). Compared to the academic year 2019 - 2020, the whole university has 78 scientific papers published internationally. This is a great step in scientific research, contributing to improving the university's position in the worldwide universities rankings."- said Dr. Vo Van Tuan.

For strong research teams to develop further, Dr. Vo Van Tuan expressed that it is necessary to invest more in finance to have modern laboratory equipment and build a product contracting mechanism.

Recently, Lac Hong University (LHU) has also attracted attention with its practical scientific research topics. According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Vu Quynh (Vice-Rector of LHU), along with the talent attraction policy and engaging remuneration policy, LHU has trained a strong team of doctors. The doctors have formed strong research teams, participated in bidding for large domestic and foreign projects, and conducted research on technology transfer to serve local enterprises' production and activities.

"Many technology transfer topics are highly appreciated by businesses. By the internal strength of faculty members, LHU has recently published international scientific papers and ranked among the top 50 universities in Vietnam with the best international publication. The quality of the university's training has been significantly improved through the increasing number of student groups whose topics have been participating in science and technology awards at the provincial, city, and ministry levels, and the increasing number of winning high prizes" - The Vice-Rector of LHU shared

However, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Vu Quynh also said that for strong research teams to operate effectively, the investment in research equipment must be modern and commensurate with the teams. In addition to using the university's resources, it is necessary to coordinate with domestic and foreign science and technology funds to accelerate the process; and collaborate with businesses to create resources for teams to thrive better.