‘HCMC dares to take responsibility to commercialize research results’

The information was given by Mr. Lam Dinh Thang, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology, at the Conference on implementing the Policy Pilot Project to create motivation for commercialization, quickly bringing research results and intellectual property formed from the state budget into production and business on March 13. He said, “The city is choosing to take the lead in difficult areas, ready to take practical action, and remove bottlenecks in commercializing science and technology.”

According to Mr. Thang, Ho Chi Minh City possesses great scientific and technological potential, a dynamic innovation ecosystem and a large team of scientists, institutes – schools and businesses. However, the current commercialization rate of research results using state budget is only about 5%. Up to 37% of research results are ready to be transferred, but have not yet been put into practice due to problems with pricing mechanisms, authorization procedures and risk aversion in the process of performing public duties. The “three houses” link (State – Scientists – Enterprises) is not tight enough, lacking a strong enough mechanism to share risks and accompany in the product development process.

“If current problems are not promptly resolved, it will slow down the process of converting scientific knowledge into socio-economic value, while reducing the effectiveness of the State’s investment in science and technology,” Mr. Thang emphasized. Accordingly, he said that “this project demonstrates the strong determination of Ho Chi Minh City: proactively pilot, clearly define responsibilities and dare to take responsibility in implementation”.

6 groups of solutions to remove bottlenecks

According to the Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology, the focus of the project lies on 6 groups of breakthrough solutions, designed right at the current biggest “bottlenecks” in commercializing research results.

First, determining clear asset values ​​helps public units proactively commercialize without worrying about legal risks;

Second, the previously invested state capital is not included in the reciprocal rate to create conditions for businesses to boldly participate in the next stages;

Third, apply R&D costs as the legal floor price in the early stages, reducing fear of mistakes and speeding up bringing products to market;

Fourth, flexibly delegate authority, shorten procedures, help research results not lag behind the market;

Fifth, financial support up to 50% of product completion costs, sharing risks with businesses and promoting commercialization;

Sixth, accept and manage scientific risks, protect organizations/individuals that comply with regulations, and do not criminalize objective risks.

“These 6 solutions are linked into a unified whole, from pricing, delegation, financial support to risk management, creating a safe but not stagnant, flexible but controlled environment,” Mr. Thang said.

According to Mr. Thang, after two weeks of implementation, the project has received great attention from businesses, universities, research institutes, and science and technology organizations. To date, there are 54 products from 29 organizations registered to participate, of which 9 businesses registered to participate in 22 products (accounting for 41%). The list of registered products is quite diverse, belonging to many strategic technology fields such as UAVs and low-range economics, AI, smart cities, biotechnology, and high-tech agriculture. The total estimated budget for implementation exceeds VND 500 billion, of which the proposed funding from the state budget is more than VND 200 billion.

According to Mr. Pham Dinh Anh Khoi, Director of the Technology Business Incubation Center, University of Technology – Ho Chi Minh City National University, the project of the Department of Science and Technology shows that the city is proactively removing bottlenecks to bring research results from the laboratory to the market. In particular, technical universities play an increasingly important role in the city’s innovation ecosystem.

Mr. Khoi said that many research results at the school are now ready for practical application. However, the biggest barrier today is the mechanism for technology to go to market.

Accordingly, Mr. Khoi proposed building a mechanism to support commercialization along the chain, from perfecting technology, market testing, standardization, creating conditions for businesses to receive and develop products. In parallel, there is the formation of a sustainable ecosystem between cities, universities, research institutes, businesses and investors, to avoid the situation where research groups have to fend for themselves in the process of bringing technology to market.

Also according to Mr. Khoi, the school is committed to accompanying Ho Chi Minh City in faster bringing research results and intellectual property using the state budget into production and business, thereby contributing to building the city into a leading center of science, technology and innovation in Vietnam and the region.

Mr. Nguyen Hoang Giang, Deputy Director of the Department of Intellectual Property, assessed that Ho Chi Minh City has made breakthrough strides in recent years when the growth rate of patent protection titles in the period 2021-2025 reached 45.5%/year. The number of patent protection applications filed in Ho Chi Minh City by 2025 also increased by about 33%, far exceeding the previously set target of 16-18%.

Mr. Giang commented that the market is starting to record positive signs of movement when the number of licensing applications for research results in 2025 increases by more than 17% compared to 2024, showing that the practical application of inventions has begun to be promoted, directly contributing to economic value.

Representatives of the National Office of Intellectual Property emphasized three important messages for the process of commercializing research results. In particular, commercialization must start from intellectual property management; Intellectual property strategy must be linked to the market; and need transparent mechanisms to encourage scientists to bring research to the market.

For projects using state budget, the determination of ownership rights, exploitation rights and benefit sharing mechanisms between the host organization, research groups and businesses need to be clearly regulated.

“A transparent mechanism will create motivation for scientists to boldly commercialize research results,” Mr. Giang said.

In addition, Mr. Giang also said that the National Office of Intellectual Property is speeding up the reception and licensing of inventions compared to present, and recommended that institutes, schools and businesses proactively review research results capable of forming intellectual property, register for early protection and develop exploitation strategies suitable to market needs.