Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the National Student Entrepreneurship Festival in Can Tho on May 12 (photo: VOV)

The event was jointly organized by the Ministry of Education and Training, the HCM Communist Youth Union Central Committee and the Can Tho municipal People's Committee.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the PM emphasized that entrepreneurship and innovation are crucial drivers and resources for sustainable development of every nation. Entrepreneurship requires passion, determination, perseverance and the courage to overcome obstacles and challenges to strive for success.

He said the National Student Entrepreneurship Festival, held annually since 2018, has become an intellectual playground where valuable ideas and scientific research are developed to foster the entrepreneurial aspirations of young people. It also provides a conducive environment to support students in shaping and realizing their entrepreneurial ideas and projects.

After six years of implementation, the Government’s project on supporting student entrepreneurship by 2025 has achieved significant results, attracting over 3,000 start-up projects from students, involving more than 20,000 people.

By the end of 2023, there were 110 co-working spaces for startups in universities, with over 120 universities incorporating entrepreneurship and innovation as mandatory or selective courses. Ten training facilities have allocated funds to support student entrepreneurship.

The Network of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centres at universities and colleges have been established.

PM Chinh expressed pride in many Vietnamese students who have achieved high academic and scientific research results domestically and internationally and have been recruited by major technology companies worldwide such as Facebook, Space X, Google, and Quora.

He pointed out some limitations, notably the limited and fragmented startup ecosystem, and the gap compared to other countries in the region and the world. The implementation of support policies for student entrepreneurship has been slow and incubation and start-up activities in higher education institutions have not yet been deeply explored. The infrastructure and laboratory facilities are insufficient, and there is a shortage of counselling and support staff for start-ups.

The PM directed the Ministry of Education and Training, as well as various departments, sectors and localities, to conduct a comprehensive review and enhance appropriate mechanisms and policies to create a supportive environment and legal framework for students to embark on their entrepreneurial endeavors.

Chinh required further enhancing of links between universities, colleges and research centers equipped with modern facilities, which would help students research and create sample products and foster connections between different fields through the support of faculty members, lecturers and coordinators.

He also emphasized the connection between student entrepreneurship support centers in universities and vocational education institutions with local entrepreneurship centers and the connections between localities and universities to enhance project development and better address practical local issues.

The Government leader highlighted the need to foster a spirit of innovation and creativity in the education sector. He said it is crucial to establish entrepreneurship and innovation support centers in higher education institutions and vocational education facilities. There should be proposals to establish start-up project exchange platforms for students with enterprises.

Encouraging businesses and agencies to use products developed from startup projects and coordinating with educational institutions to provide career counselling, employment guidance, and startup support was paramount, he said. Shared experiential and creative startup spaces, actively involving students and lecturers in entrepreneurial activities to promote the commercialization of research products are necessary.

Chinh noted the proactive allocation of resources for early establishment and improvement of the startup ecosystem, funds for science and technology development in higher education institutions, and expert and advisory networks.

He directed the investment in building standardised laboratories. Students should be provided with information on startup support policies, experiential activities and career orientation, he added.

The annual festival, part of the project to support pupils and students in launching their startups, includes various activities such as exhibitions on startups, forums and conferences on supporting start-ups in high schools, and the final round of a start-up contest for students.