Promoting IP education at schools in Vietnam

At the event, organised by the Intellectual Property Office under the Ministry of Science and Technology in Hanoi, Altaye Tedla Desta, head of the Online Training Department at the WIPO Academy, proposed integrating innovation, IP, and entrepreneurship into various subjects from an early stage of education.

Participants discussed the importance of IP education in schools. Photo: Ministry of Science and Technology

According to Altaye, Vietnam must identify key factors for integrating IP education into school curricula from an early stage. She cited research showing that creativity peaks between the ages of 12 and 20, a crucial period for young people to discover their talents and passions.

Traditional education, however, often stifles creativity by rigidly separating structures, limiting students' ability to innovate across disciplines.

She emphasised that IP awareness goes beyond protection; it is a strategic tool for generating revenue, empowering individuals, and commercialising knowledge, including traditional and community wisdom, while safeguarding against misappropriation.

Without proper IP protection, many innovative ideas fail to reach the market, risking loss, unauthorised copying, or financial exploitation. Products may also lose significant value.

She stated that the most successful entrepreneurs do not just invent; they innovate with a clear plan to reach the market and customers who need their products or services.

Trinh Van Son, CEO of Truong Thanh Media JSC, also emphasised the importance of educating younger generations about IP to gradually establish and nurture an IP culture.

Son shared that his company, in collaboration with Smartschool, has been researching and adapting both domestic and international IP training courses to suit Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Luu Hoang Long, director of the Intellectual Property Office, acknowledged that IP education for high school students remains a new and underdeveloped initiative in Vietnam, lacking systematic and regular implementation. He praised Truong Thanh Media's initiative to develop an IP education programme for students and expressed hope for continued collaboration with businesses and stakeholders to foster an IP culture nationally.

Long emphasised that strengthening IP education would contribute to achieving key objectives in Vietnam's intellectual property strategy.

At the seminar, the Intellectual Property Office presented survey findings from 800 students across various schools, revealing alarmingly low levels of IP awareness. Specifically, 74 per cent of primary school students and 87 per cent of lower secondary school students reported having never encountered any knowledge of IP. Despite this, the majority expressed a willingness to embrace these new concepts.

Former deputy director general of the Department of Intellectual Property Le Ngoc Lam reinforced the urgency of integrating IP education into school curricula, noting that 95 per cent of startups fail due to a lack of IP awareness.

"While this is not a new concept in other countries, in Vietnam, schools must take bold steps on this new path to develop innovative training models," Lam stated.

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