Vietnam National Innovation Day sparks nationwide drive for growth

Party General Secretary To Lam speaking at the opening ceremony of Vietnam National Innovation Day 2025

The opening ceremony took place on October 1 at the National Innovation Centre in Hanoi’s Hoa Lac High-Tech Park, co-organised by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) and the Ministry of Finance. The event drew senior Party and state leaders, ministries, local authorities, businesses, universities, investors, and international partners, all gathering to celebrate and drive Vietnam’s innovation agenda.

The event is part of Vietnam International Innovation Expo 2025 (VIIE 2025), running from October 1–3.

It celebrates creative ideas and solutions while encouraging the growth of a comprehensive national innovation ecosystem.

Serving as a hub that brings together every component of the innovation landscape, Vietnam National Innovation Day 2025 seeks to spread the spirit of innovation, spark aspirations for development, strengthen international integration, and support Vietnam’s goal of becoming a high-income country by 2045.

At the opening ceremony, General Secretary To Lam said that intelligent and creative labour is an inexhaustible source of strength for the Vietnamese people. "This spirit has enabled Vietnam to turn difficulties into opportunities, transform potential into strength, and overcome challenges to achieve the stature, potential, and position it holds today. Nothing can stop Vietnam from rising to become a prosperous and powerful nation," he said.

He added that innovation is not a final destination for any nation, but a continuous, never-ending process of improvement. Its origin lies in the courage to dream of the extraordinary, to undertake the most difficult tasks, to take responsibility before the people and history, and to blaze new trails where none exist.

"Innovation must go hand-in-hand with firmly developing a foundation of sci-tech, enhancing national strategic autonomy in technology, especially core and foundational technologies," he said and called for the urgent development of 11 strategic technologies in Resolution No.57-NQ/TW, with clear roadmaps for mastering them.

These include semiconductors, AI, big data, cybersecurity and encryption, biotechnology, biomedical science, new materials, new energy, electronics, sensors, and robotics. At the same time, it is necessary to develop essential digital infrastructure such as cloud computing, high-performance computing, and 5G/6G data centres.

He also emphasised the need to increase the domestic content in critical technology systems, ensuring confident global integration without dependence, and expanding cooperation while maintaining core national capabilities. This must be done alongside the completion of policies and regulatory frameworks that support science, technology, and innovation.

The general secretary called on every citizen to innovate in their daily work. "Every civil servant should improve their workflow, every teacher should innovate their teaching methods, every engineer should write an extra line of code, every entrepreneur should bravely enter the market, and every young person should take on personal responsibility and challenges. Let every person contribute a useful idea, every organisation propose a concrete improvement, and every locality develop a leading product, so that the entire country becomes a vibrant innovation ecosystem," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung stated, “This initiative aims at raising public awareness about the role of science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation. It also serves to honour innovative ideas across all fields and to accelerate the development of a national innovation ecosystem.”

Last year, the prime minister designated October 1 as Vietnam National Innovation Day, to be observed annually. This year's event underlines the Party and state’s strong commitment to encouraging innovation as a strategic pillar for socioeconomic development, enhancing productivity, boosting competitiveness, and ensuring sustainable growth.

During the opening ceremony, the 2025 Provincial Innovation Index (PII 2025) was announced and launched numerous response programmes involving enterprises, international organisations, and experts.

An Innovation Policy Forum was also held, chaired by the MoST. The forum introduced noteworthy policies already enacted, showcased model frameworks for reference and application, and created an open dialogue space for policymakers, experts, businesses, and investors, both domestic and international to share insights, experiences, and solutions to foster innovation.

VIIE 2025 features hundreds of technology enterprises, research institutes, and startups from both Vietnam and abroad (including the US, Germany, France, and Japan), and is expected to draw in over 40,000 visitors.

The exhibition highlights new products and technologies across 11 key sectors, aligned with Decision No.1131/QD-TTg dated June 12.

Additionally, a forum on accelerating innovation in strategic technologies will be held, with participation from global tech giants such as Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Meta.

The forum focuses on strategic fields including semiconductors, AI, quantum technology, cybersecurity, and aerospace. It offers a platform for direct networking between Vietnamese enterprises and the global tech community, opening up opportunities for collaborative research, technology transfer, and commercialisation.

Other key activities and side events include workshops on developing high-quality workers and boosting STEM education; the kick-off of the 2026 National VEX Robotics Championship; Recognition of outstanding individuals and teams who achieved results in international STEM competitions; Experiential activities such as e-vehicle test drives and STEM experiences for students; The Better Choice Awards for noteworthy innovative products.

Vietnam, US deepen cooperation in science and technology Vietnam and the United States will increase bilateral cooperation in science, technology, innovation and digital transformation to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Vietnam launches Intellectual Property and Innovation Cooperation Alliance The Intellectual Property (IP) and Innovation Cooperation Alliance was launched on September 26, aiming to create a favourable environment for young people to use and protect IP rights (IPR).

Science and technology sector continues on journey of innovation The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) celebrated the 80th anniversary of the post and telecommunications sector, the 66th anniversary of the science and technology sector, and the 1st Patriotic Emulation Congress on September 29.