Ten outstanding science and technology events in 2019

The event drew the participation of  Dr. Le Xuan Dinh, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology; Prof. Phan Ngoc Minh, Vice President of VAST; Prof. Pham Van Duc, Vice President of Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, and Journalist Ha Hong, Chairman of Club of Journalists of Science and Technology.
This is the 14th year of the event was organized by the Club of Journalists of Science and Technology. VAST is honored to contribute three events in the top ten outstanding science and technology events in 2019, including: Design, manufacture and successful launch of MicroDragon satellite; official operation of the DNA identification centre for martyrs; and Professor Pham Hoang Hiep receiving the Ramanujan Prize.

The overview of the Ceremony Giving Certificates for Outstanding Events in 2019

Ten science and technology events include:
I / Areas of policy mechanisms 
1 / Promulgating Resolution 52 on the Fourth Industrial Revolution
On September 27, 2019, General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong signed and promulgated Resolution 52-NQ / TW “A number of guidelines and policies to actively participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution ”(Resolution 52). Resolution 52 stated that the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) opened up many opportunities, and also posed challenges for each nation, organization and individual; and has been increasingly strongly affecting all fields of national social and economic life.
The guiding viewpoint of the Politburo is to be proactive and positive, participating in Industry 4.0 is an indispensable requirement, a particularly important strategic task, both urgent and long-term of the whole political system and the whole society, closely linked to the process of extensive international integration. At the same time, full and proper awareness of the contents and nature of Industry 4.0 is necessary to resolve to innovate thinking and action, considering it a breakthrough solution with appropriate steps and roadmaps, as an opportunity for Vietnam to make a breakthrough in socio-economic development.
II / Social science field
2 / National Scientific Conference "The struggle to protect the northern border of the country- 40 years looking back"
On February 15, 2019, in Hanoi, the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences and the Vietnam Association of Historical Sciences held a National Scientific Conference "The struggle to protect the northern border of the country - 40 years look back”. The event drew the participation of scientists and lecturers from prestigious institutes and universities throughout the country, and veterans who fought to protect the northern border of the country 40 years ago.
It was an opportunity to honor the people and soldiers who fought and sacrificed to protect each inch of the frontier land of the country, in order to educate the young generations on patriotism, national pride and deep gratitude to our fathers, who have spared no effort in the youth and blood to protect the independence, freedom, unity and territorial integrity of the nation. The workshop draws lessons of history for both generations of Vietnamese at present and in the future to strengthen solidarity and build a rich and strong country to cope with every situation in the present risk and uncertain hidden world; and always be wary of all attempts to destroy the peaceful life of the people and hinder the development of Vietnam.
III / Field of natural sciences
3 / Design, manufacture and successfully launch MicroDragon satellite
On January 18, 2019, the MicroDragon satellite, designed and manufactured by Vietnam, was launched into orbit in Japan. This event marked an important step forward in mastering Vietnam's earth observation and telecommunications satellite technology for commerce.
Vietnamese experts conducted functional research, system design; selected equipment, installed and programmed MicroDragon satellite. The mission of the satellite is to take photos of the sea colors of coastal areas of Vietnam to assess the quality and composition of seawater, serving the fishing industry.
The successful launch of the MicroDragon satellite shows that Vietnamese experts have gradually mastered the technology at all stages, from satellite requirements analysis, gathering the requirements of the relevant industry, to designing satellite missions, requesting components, and assembling and integrating to complete satellite functions and manufacturing ground systems. Mastering the technology of designing, manufacturing and operating satellites will help Vietnam to be proactive in image sources, not dependent on foreign countries, especially in urgent situations when natural disasters or disasters occur.
IV / Field of applied research
4 / Open the National Document Link Axis and National Public Service Portal
On March 12th, 2019, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and leaders of ministries, branches and central agencies participated in the launching ceremony of the National Document Link Axis. The event showed the Government's determination to build e-government over the past time and concretize the Prime Minister's instructions on the construction of e-government "Think largely, look holistically, act fast and start from the smallest things." The axis is the basic step for the digital transformation process of the Government and the premise to form a paperless government, improve job performance and save costs for society. It is invested by VNPT Group with advanced technology and leased by the Government Office.
The National Public Service Portal (dichvucong.gov.vn) supporting people and businesses to carry out the official online administrative procedure opened in the afternoon of December 9th, 2019. It consists of six main parts: the national database on administrative procedures; authentication, login once; online payment; feedback and recommendation system for people and businesses; integration of online public services of ministries, branches and localities; online support and support call center. 
Currently, the portal offers five online public services in 63 localities: Change driving license; notice of promotional activities; re-issue of health insurance cards due to loss or damage; low-voltage electricity supply services (serving people and households); and medium voltage power supply service (for businesses). It has been directed by the Government since 2015, built by VNPT Group.
5 / ST25 - "The best rice in the world"
The 11th World Rice Trade Conference held in the Philippines, held from November 10-13, 2019, recognized the ST25 rice variety as "the world's best rice in 2019". ST25 is a rice variety developed by a team of scientists from the southern Soc Trang province, including the labor hero, engineer Ho Quang Cua, Dr. Tran Tan Phuong and engineer Nguyen Thu Huong. 
To create fragrant rice varieties such as ST25, scientists from the field of agriculture must perform cross-breeding among multiple parent rice varieties to create more complex rice lines of genotypes, then use backcross innovate with the most advanced ST line to create the final product. The ST rice varieties, whose  latest is ST25, have outstanding characteristics in disease prevention and salinity resistance; have many advantages of pure Vietnamese rice, long grain, white, clear. When cooking, it will be sticky and draining, and has a pineapple smell. Compared to international rice varieties, the advantage of ST25 is the high yield variety, which can be grown from two to three crops in a year.
Currently the application file for recognition of ST25 as a new rice variety has been sent to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Scientists who created ST25, hope that after being recognized as a new variety, localities and farmers will expand the area, build specialized cultivation areas and cultivate correct technical processes to keep the quality of this precious rice in order to produce good rice with high prices.
6 / Viettel makes the first 5G call in Vietnam
On May 10th, 2019, Viettel made the first official connection on 5G mobile network in Vietnam with Ericsson's device. The activity was part of a technical test program implemented by Viettel to evaluate all aspects of practical application of technology in Vietnam. Viettel aimed to be a pioneer in developing and deploying the latest technologies, including 5G technology synchronized with the world's leading carriers to serve Vietnam's digital transformation strategy, ready for the industrial revolution 4.0.
Viettel's 5G research and development engineers are also in the process of researching, mastering technology, creating and developing products of Viettel 5G broadcasting station. The fifth generation mobile broadband network (5G) is the backbone of the Industrial Revolution 4.0. The above event marked Vietnam becoming one of the earliest countries in the world to successfully test its 5G network. The 5G technology deployed by Viettel is in line with the standardization roadmap of 3GPP. This is the first time Vietnam can accompany the world in mastering and applying the latest technology, and affirms the maturity of Viettel's technical force.
7 / Center for DNA Testing of martyrs officially operates
The event of bringing the DNA Testing Center at VAST into operation on July 25, 2019, on the occasion of the 72nd anniversary of War Invalids and Fallen Soldiers' Day, has profound humanity, contributing to the effective implementation of the work of evaluating the remains of fallen soldiers and expressing gratefulness to fallen soldiers’ families. 
The Center is currently working closely with major organizations in the United States, such as the USAID project which provides support and enhances technical capacity to use DNA information to analyze and identify the remains. 
Foreign organizations such as International Commission on the Missing Persons (ICMP), Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) and QIAGEN Group (Germany) work together to contribute assessing technology for difficult samples in Vietnam. Since August, 2019, the center has assessed more than 200 samples per month. The rate of successful sample inspections has increased, contributing to meeting the requirements of the people and the Government's expectation.
8/ Seasonal Trivalent Inactivated Split Virion Influenza Vaccine Clinical Trial (IVACFLU-S) officially circulated from January 2019
In the afternoon of January 15, 2019, the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC) held a press conference to announce the Seasonal Trivalent Inactivated Split Virion Influenza Vaccine Clinical Trial (IVACFLU-S) produced by the Institute from January 2019. This is the first influenza vaccine produced by Vietnam, capable of preventing three common strains of influenza virus, including A/H1N1/09; A/H3N2 and influenza B.
When avian influenza A/H5N1 appeared and showed signs of spreading in Vietnam in 2003, there was a potential risk of an epidemic. The Ministry of Health directed vaccine production units in the country, including IVAC to focus resources on research and development of vaccines against human influenza. In May 2018, the National Ethics Council for Biomedical Research assessed that the IVACFLU-S vaccine met safety requirements and immunogenicity, meeting antibody protection of 60.3 – 86.6% (equivalent to vaccines produced in European countries). The vaccine is formulated as an injection solution for human use (ages 18 to 60). It is known that the IVACFLU-S vaccine production scale and capacity is about 1.5 million doses per year.
V/ Fields honoring scientists
9/ Professor Pham Hoang Hiep receives Ramanujan Prize
The International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) presented Ramanujan Prize in 2019 to Prof. Dr. Pham Hoang Hiep – the Institute of Mathematics - VAST, in October 2019. The award is named after the genius mathematician Srinivasan Ramanujan (1887-1920), an Indian mathematician who taught himself and made very important findings at a very young age. The Ramanujan Prize is sponsored by India’s Ministry of Science and Technology and the Abel Foundation of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, in collaboration with the International Mathematical Federation (IMU). 
The award recognized the outstanding contributions of Prof. Dr. Pham Hoang Hiep in the field of complex analytics, especially in the multi-position theory in which the author had an important research result about the singularity of the lower multimodal harmonic function, Monge-Ampère equation and formal threshold with important applications in algebraic geometry and complex Kähler geometry. The award also acknowledged Prof. Dr. Pham Hoang Hiep's contribution to the development of mathematics in Vietnam. Prof. Dr. Pham Hoang Hiep graduated from Hanoi National University of Education in 2004, defended his doctoral thesis at Umea University, Sweden, in 2008, and defended his doctoral thesis in science at Aix-Marseille University, France in 2013.
Dr. Hiep was conferred the title of Associate Professor in 2011 and Professor in 2017. He initially worked at Hanoi National University of Education and then worked at the Institute of Mathematics, VAST. He has published nearly 40 articles in international mathematical journals, a monograph and two textbooks on graduate and post-graduate teaching curriculum.
VI / International cooperation
10 / Techfest Vietnam was first introduced internationally
The national start-up day “Techfest Vietnam 2019” took place in Quang Ninh province from December 4th and 6th, 2019, under the theme “Resources Convergence". Techfest Vietnam 2019 gathered the best startup ideas in the country through many competitions and the world's investment and interest through the journey of bringing businesses abroad to learn.  The 2019 event attracted around 6,000 attendees with more than 350 domestic and international investors, large enterprises, economic groups and start-up support organizations. 
About 250 potential startups were connected to boost cooperation. The event focused on advising policymakers on issues to attract domestic and foreign resources to develop an innovative startup ecosystem and promote the operation of organizations, individuals in the entrepreneurial ecosystem take place effectively; discussed global technology trends; shared of successful start-up examples; shared the experience of leading investors, speakers, experts on developing an entrepreneurial ecosystem and investing for startups.
In the framework of Techfest Vietnam 2019, other important activities such as the Artificial Intelligence Race; Open creative forum; Inspiring presentation and Final of the National Creative Entrepreneurship Competition took place.
In addition, the first time the Ministry of Science and Technology organized the International Techfest in the United States (from September 7-14); Korea (from November 3 to 9) and Singapore (from November 10 to 14) to promote Vietnam's startups and innovative ecosystems to the world. Seminars were also organized for managers, investors and businesses, successful start-ups, Vietnamese expatriates, experts and international organizations to strengthen the connection between the components of the domestic ecosystem, connecting experts and overseas Vietnamese people successfully join hands to build an ecosystem of innovative Vietnamese start-up development.

Translated by Tuyet Nhung
Link to Vietnamese version