AVSE Global, a non-profit organization based in Paris, in collaboration with the Ninh Binh People's Committee, is holding the Vietnam R&D Forum 2025 (VRDF 2025) with the theme: "Advancing Vietnam's future through strategic R&D investment".

The forum will take place on July 30–31, 2025 in Ninh Binh, a province with dual world heritage status, to create a hub for knowledge exchange and innovation.

Countries like South Korea, Israel, France, and Singapore have leveraged robust R&D investment strategies as a catalyst to enhance productivity and value addition in global supply chains.

According to 2024 World Bank statistics, Vietnam's R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP rose from 0.30 percent in 2013 to 0.43 percent in 2021.

This is a positive step, but it remains low compared to the average level of developed countries, which typically ranges from 2 to 4 percent of GDP.

Vietnam faces challenges such as limited technology absorption and mastery, weak linkages between businesses and universities, and underutilization of global intellectual resources.

The Vietnam R&D Forum 2025 aims to be a strategic step toward transitioning to a knowledge-based economy while strengthening endogenous innovation capacity—a key factor for sustainable development and enhancing national stature.

The forum is designed to bring together domestic and international experts, scientists, policymakers, and business representatives with influence in research and application, targeting five core objectives: establishing long-term R&D collaboration mechanisms; promoting the transfer and commercialization of research outcomes; building a national R&D strategy based on practical initiatives; positioning Vietnam as an emerging R&D hub in ASEAN; and fostering a dynamic, integrated, and sustainable R&D ecosystem.

The forum will focus on three main pillars: discussing the Vietnam R&D Roadmap 2025–2030, including commercialization, networking, and industry-university collaboration through financial incentives.

Additionally, it will propose a National R&D Policy Framework, including a National R&D Council, talent incentives, R&D tax credits, and a talent strategy; and engage in dialogue on an R&D investment action plan by sector, covering initial investment support, specialized training, R&D-focused special economic zones (SEZs), and investment support funds.

Target of 2 percent

The forum will also deliver a policy report, establish an expert database, and propose specific R&D actions for Vietnam's strategic industries, aiming to increase R&D investment to 2 percent of GDP by 2030.

The Vietnam R&D Forum 2025, held for the first time on an international scale, will feature a group of 100 distinguished guests, including Vietnamese and Vietnamese-origin experts and globally influential R&D figures.

This platform fosters high-level connections among government, businesses, universities, tech corporations, research institutes, and investors to promote technology transfer, efficient investment models, and a sustainable R&D ecosystem in Vietnam.

Prestigious int’l leaders at forum

Notably, the event will witness the attendance of Top Thinkers50 members, the globally influential thought leaders in management and business, and leading scientists like Navi Radjou, a top innovation and leadership consultant and author of multiple New York Times bestsellers.

Since 2021, Radjou has been recognized by Thinkers50 as one of the 50 most influential management thinkers worldwide.

The event will also include Hamilton Mann, a senior researcher at the Retech Center of Ecole des Ponts Business School, advisor at MIT's Priscilla King Gray (PKG) Center, Vice President of Thales Group, and consultant to numerous Fortune 500 companies.

In 2024, Mann was named one of the “Top 10 Thought Leaders in Technology” by Technology Magazine and listed among Thinkers50 Radar’s “30 most promising business thinkers worldwide.”

The event will also feature Professor Lim Weng Marc, Dean of Sunway Business School, and Editor-in-Chief of prestigious academic journals such as Activities, Adaptation and Aging (Routledge), Global Business and Organizational Excellence (Wiley), and International Journal of Quality and Innovation (Inderscience). He is ranked among the top 2 percent of scientists globally by Elsevier BV and Stanford University’s comprehensive author database in 2020 and 2021.

Lim has held the record for “Youngest Professor” in the Malaysia Book of Records since 2020.

VRDF 2025 promises to be a pivotal event, shaping Vietnam’s innovation future and strengthening its position in the era of the knowledge economy.

Thai Khang