Da Nang (VNA) – Two hundred young Vietnameseintellectuals have gathered in the central city of Da Nang to pool their ideasto help the country capitalise on opportunities brought about by the 4th industrial revolution (4IR) for a better workforce, environment and businessclimate.

The youths, residing in 21 countries and working in 52different areas, were brought together at the first Global Young Vietnamese IntellectualForum, themed “Tapping the power of young Vietnamese intellectuals in the 4IR era”.

According to the organiser – the Ho Chi Minh Communist YouthUnion Central Committee and the Vietnam Youth Federation – 27 percent of theparticipants are assistant professors, doctors and post-docs, 25 percent hold Master’sdegrees, 33 percent have Bachelor’s degrees and 5 percent are students withoutstanding academic performance.

At the last session of the three-day forum on November 29,three groups presented their opinions and recommendations on three main topics –promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) to build ahigh-quality workforce; adopting 4IR technologies in environmental protectionand climate change response; and promoting innovation in manufacturing andbusiness.

Tran Thi Nhu Hoa from the Gachon University in the Republicof Korea, representing the STEM group, called for a full survey on current STEMeducation at all levels and the building of a national strategy, policies and anaction plan for STEM development.

She proposed the Ministry of Education and Training developstandard STEM programmes, materials, and education models in line with localconditions at all levels of education, with particular attention paid to thegroups of the disabled and ethnic minority students. Relevant training coursesfor teachers and communications campaigns to raise public awareness on STEMeducation are also needed, she said.

The leader of the group working on the environmental matter,Khuu Thuy Duong from the UK-based University College London, recommended theGovernment increase the number of relevant cross-sector research projectsregarding science, economics, social science, and politics.

According to the group, it is necessary to have more studieson boosting public awareness on disaster risk reduction and the application of4IR technologies in climate change adaptation, while improving regional energyplanning to tap into each region’s advantages.

Nguyen Bich Ngoc from the Vietnam National EconomicsUniversity, leader of the innovation group, stressed the importance ofencouraging the private sector’s involvement in innovation, improvingcoordination among public agencies and sectors, and leveraging internationaleconomic integration for domestic innovation progress.

She said training establishments ought to reform theirtraining methods to enhance their teaching quality and work with businesses tomeet practical demand.

The forum rounded off with the establishment of its workingmechanism and the debut of a global network of young Vietnamese intellectuals.Participants agreed on the theme of sustainable development for the secondforum next year.  

At present, there are more than 400,000 Vietnameseintellectuals abroad, including over 6,000 doctorate degree holders. Up to150,000 are working in the US – of whom, roughly 12,000 working in SiliconValley, more than 100 at the World Bank, 40,000 in France, 20,000 in Canada,4,000 in Eastern Europe and Russia, and 7,000 in Australia.–VNA