Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and Chinese Academy of Sciences exchange and expand cooperation in science and technology
Prof. Acad. Chau Van Minh, President of VAST during the delegation reception expressed his respect and warm welcome to the CAS delegation, affirming that the visit is a testament to the interest in promoting cooperation between the two leading academies of the two countries. The President of VAST emphasized the role of science, technology and innovation in the national development strategy, and shared the orientation of restructuring VAST research system to focus resources on priority areas, improve research capacity and international integration. On the side of CAS, Vice President HE Hongping expressed his impression of VAST's research potential and development vision, and affirmed that the cooperation relationship between VAST and CAS has been officially established since 2017 through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many cooperation activities have not been implemented as expected. In this meeting, CAS wishes to promote specific cooperation activities and determines that 2025 will be the time to strongly promote bilateral cooperation programs, in which priority is given to fields such as: materials science, green technology, renewable energy, earth science, biodiversity. CAS is always ready to share its experience and support VAST in building advanced research models, developing scientific and technological infrastructure, and training the next generation of scientists.
Prof. Acad. Chau Van Minh, President of VAST received Prof. Ha Hong Binh, Vice President of CAS and CAS delegation
At the in-depth working session co-chaired by Vice President Tran Tuan Anh (VAST) and Vice President Ha Hong Binh (CAS), the two sides exchanged and discussed in detail the current status of cooperation, introduced the organizational model, development orientation and priority programs of each Academy. Representative of VAST, Dr. Nguyen Hoang Duong – Deputy Director of International Cooperation Department – introduced an overview of VAST with an organizational structure consisting of 24 affiliated units headquartered in three regions of Northern, Central and Southern Vietnam, 3000 staff including 48 Professors, 152 Associate Professors, 916 Doctors of Science and PhDs. For many years, VAST has been a leader in Vietnam in the field of basic research with over 2,000 publications per year; approaching the rate of 1.7 publications/one doctorate/year (equivalent to the publication rate of prestigious scientific research organizations and universities in developed countries around the world). VAST is also assigned by the Government to preside over the system of national key laboratories, key projects on satellite technology, development of new materials, development of the Vietnam nature museum system, development of the Internet of Things network, management of the national disaster warning system. In parallel with basic research, VAST has also researched and developed a number of technologies in industry, agriculture and medicine and are coordinating with many businesses to test and perfect technology. VAST is also interested in promoting international cooperation through scientific exchange, implementation of joint research and training projects. On the CAS side, Mr. Wang Zhenyu – Deputy Director General of Department of International Cooperation – presented the scale and research capacity of CAS, which includes more than 100 research institutes, three universities, 39 large research infrastructures and is the global leader in scientific publications in the Nature Index ranking for 12 consecutive years. CAS has established relationships with more than 200 scientific agencies and organizations in more than 60 countries and regions; at the same time, he is a member of many international scientific organizations and actively participates in many international research projects.
In the field of materials science, the two sides have evaluated the results of cooperation between Institute of Materials Science (VAST) and Institute of Process Engineering (CAS), especially in the research and development of nanomaterials applied in lithium-ion batteries. This is an outstanding collaborative project using plasma technology to support advanced material synthesis, achieving high performance, opening up the possibility of industrial application. In order to continue to promote in-depth cooperation, the two sides signed a Letter of Intent expressing their intention to continue to promote cooperation, towards joint research programs, equipment sharing, technology transfer and training of high-quality human resources in the field of materials and green technology.
In the field of earth sciences, Institute of Earth Sciences (VAST) has proposed many potential avenues of cooperation with CAS units in geological research, disaster warning, and climate change. In addition, the two academies also propose to expand cooperation in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology and biodiversity. In particular, VAST introduced the UNESCO-sponsored International Center for Physics located at VAST and hosted by the Institute of Physics, VAST and invites CAS to participate in the Center's research and academic exchange activities. VAST's research institutes in the fields of biology, ecology, and chemistry also expressed great potential in collaborating with CAS's specialized units.
Vice President Tran Tuan Anh (VAST) and Vice President Ha Hong Binh (CAS) co-chaired the discussion session
Overview of the discussion session
Dr. Nguyen Hoang Duong – Deputy Director of VAST International Cooperation Department and Mr. Wang Zhenyu – Deputy Director of CAS International Cooperation Department introduced the two academies
VAST and CAS have a similar model in the development of affiliated universities, currently both academies have three training institutions. The two sides introduced affiliated universities such as University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), University of Chinese Sciences (UCAS) of CAS and Graduate University of Science and Technology (GUST), University of Science and Technology of Hanoi (USTH) of VAST and discussed the potential exchange of doctoral students and interns through scholarship programs such as PIFI, CAS-ANSO of CAS or student exchange activities of USTH, VAST.
Prof. Dr. Tran Dai Lam, Director of Institute of Materials Science and Prof. Qingshan ZHU, Deputy Director of Institute of Process Engineering, CAS signed the Letter of Intent for Cooperation
The meeting ended with the signing ceremony of the Letter of Intent between VAST Institute of Materials Science and CAS Institute of Process Engineering, building the beginning for research and application cooperation between the two affiliated units. In an atmosphere of friendship, openness and construction, VAST and CAS agreed to work closely to effectively implement the contents exchanged, concretize cooperation directions with practical action programs, contributing to promoting science and technology for sustainable development, strengthen understanding and trust between the two academies, contributing to connecting the two countries of Vietnam and China.
After the meeting with VAST leaders, CAS delegation will continue to visit and work professionally at Institute of Materials Sciences and Institute of Earth Sciences, concretizing the contents exchanged between the leaders of the two academies recently.
Translated by Phuong Ha
Link to Vietnamese version
