VietNamNet Bridge  - The Ministry of Science & Technology has reaffirmed the importance of basic sciences amid the community’s decreased interest in the role of the sciences. 

Chu Ngoc Anh, Minister of Science & Technology, answering VietNamNet’s questions in 2014 about Vietnam’s basic sciences’ position in the world at a press conference introducing the 2016 ‘Rendezvous Vietnam’, Vietnam ranked 50th in the world and fourth in ASEAN in math, while it ranked 60th in the world and fourth in the region in physics.

As for chemistry, Vietnam ranked 56th and fourth.

The ranking shows Vietnam is among the leading countries in the region in basic sciences.

Anh recalled the UNESCO’s (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) recognition of Vietnam’s Centers for Mathematics and Physics Type II in November 2015 to affirm the position of the science bases in the region and world.

Vietnam ranked 50th in the world and fourth in ASEAN in math, while it ranked 60th in the world and fourth in the region in physics.

There has been no center for mathematics and physics in ASEAN recognized by UNESCO. The two centers recognized, in Indonesia and Malaysia, are not in basic sciences.

The ranking is made based on the number of international publications, especially ISI (Institute for Scientific Information) publications.

Also according to Anh, in 2011-2015, the number of ISI articles by Vietnam increased by 15-20 percent a year. The total number of ISI articles published during these years was double the number of articles published in the previous 5-year period.

The National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED), established in 2008, was cited as an important unit which backs the development of basic sciences.

With the disbursement of VND300 billion a year, NAFOSTED funds about 300 scientific research tasks every year, mostly in basic sciences.

Anh’s statements about the importance of basic sciences and the policy on continuing to fund basic science development could be seen as a reply to the criticism that Vietnam wastes money on basic sciences while it does not pay appropriate attention to applied sciences. 

Nguyen Van Hieu, a renowned scientist, also affirmed that the studies in basic sciences lay the foundations for applied technologies. 

“The expenses on basic sciences just account for 5 percent of total budget, while the other 95 percent is spent on applied research works. But basic science study is a must. Everything needs to start from basic science,” Hieu said.

Dao Tien Khoa from the Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology said that basic sciences, in the eyes of many government officials, are just ‘jewelry’ to Vietnam’s science development and do not receive appropriate attention.

Khoa said that the countries with developed applied sciences and technologies all have flourishing basic sciences.

Le Van