Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - PhD students need to connect with industries tobenefit the economy in Vietnam, experts said at a recent workshop in Hanoi.

Giang Manh Khoi, deputy director of the Institute of Technology Application,said: “Highly qualified human resources are always the leading factor for thesuccess of a firm, with their outstanding innovations applied to the jobs. Theyshould create a lot of value.”

However, Khoi said: “The connection between industry, universities and theGovernment is not yet tight in Vietnam,” adding that as a result: “Graduates,as the core of the most firm’s R&D departments are less involved with thefirms’ activities and don’t create much value."

Professor Raymond Lee, from Portsmouth University, told Vietnam News: “Many PhDstudents just stay at university, studying to become lecturers,” adding: “Theymay not understand what the industries need.”

To solve the problem, eight Vietnamese universities and firms have worked withthe UK’s Portsmouth University, Cardiff University and Greenwich Universityunder the sponsorship of the British Council as part of a project named‘Education Fit for the Future’ to promote the quality of internships and industrialjob placement for post-graduate students, enabling them to become globalcitizens that meet the requirements of a future society.

Professor Lee said: “The PhD students should work outside the university, sothey can see and create innovations that society really needs.”

Mai Anh Tuan, vice director of the National Centre for Technological Progress,Ministry Of Science and Technology (Nacentech), said: “The universities producea lot of PhD students that are not used by enterprises because they are trainedwith no real practical skills, and cannot meet the demand.”

In that case, Tuan said: “Enterprises, universities and the Government face alack of qualified human resources.”

The project focuses on research on job placement in the industry with theactive participation of businesses, universities and the Government.

“There are many success stories in the UK when PhD students are connected withindustries. But the UK and Vietnam’s industries are quite different. We don’thave a lot of manufacturing industries or the strong presence of Asia (Asianfirms) like Vietnam,” said Professor Lee.

Regarding the project, Lee said: “We are in the very first stage.”

Among few examples of the connections possible, Hoang Xuan Hiep, Rector of HanoiTextile and Garment Industry University, which provided about 30 percent ofstaff for the textile industry said: “We have two garment factories in thecampus where our students can really work with partners and customers all overthe world.”

Hiep said: “The garment section will keep being one of the best growingindustries in Vietnam. We are training people for the next level of success,making Vietnam no longer an outsource destination for textile and garmentproducts but a place where we can make the fashion products for the whole chainand also own a good brand.”

Hiep said the university was now training its post-graduate and PhD students onvirtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology, as well as a lot ofinnovations in internet of things (IoT).

Tuan from Nacentech said the project was an opportunity to connect PhDstudents, universities and industries. It would also help management agenciesbuild a type of education that can fit all stakeholders in Vietnam.

Nacentech’s leader said that: “The number of Vietnamese partners in the projectwould grow as most of them realise the importance of a high-level workforce fortheir future.”

It is not known how many PhD students have been trained so far and how many ofthem used in local industries. Ten years ago, the ministry of education andtraining targeted to train at least 20,000 PhD holders by 2020. However, itthen had to terminate the project as after five years, less than one fifth ofthe students had been trained./.