Apr 21,2023

SCIENCE - TECHNOLOGY ACTIVITIES & INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION OF NAM CAN THO UNIVERSITY IN 10 YEARS

(2013-2023)

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dao Duy Huan

Member of the University Council, Vice Rector of Nam Can Tho University

1. INTRODUCTION

Nam Can Tho University (DNC) is a place for training high-quality human resources suitable to the requirements of innovation and integration of the country; it builds a friendly and humanistic cultural environment in the knowledge economy; it is a reliable place for scientific research and technology transfer to meet social needs and ensure the needs of learners, teachers, university, and society.

The DNC strives to become an advanced training institution with international integration, meeting the requirements of the Industrial Revolution 4.0, becoming one of the universities meeting national standards for quality accreditation according to the system of quality accreditation standards of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam, reaching the quality accreditation standards of Southeast Asia.

The DNC is turning 10 years old, with its inherent internal resources, and it has invested in  an outstanding development in terms of quantity, quality, and sustainability in all aspects: spacious and modern facilities, highly knowledgeable lecturers, dedicated management staff, developing many new disciplines with the number of students increasing every year, contributing to meeting the demand for quality human resources of the Mekong Delta and the whole country.

2. ACHIEVEMENTS,  STRENGTHS IN SCIENCE - TECHNOLOGY ACTIVITIES, AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

In the past 10 years, with many supportive and encouraging policies to promote scientific and technological research activities, remarkable development has been made. This is reflected in the quantity and quality of scientific and technological activities over the past 10 years. Specifically, the DNC has been implementing 03 provincial and city projects; 20 grassroots-level topics and 350 scientific articles have been published in prestigious domestic journals, 25 articles have been published in prestigious journals (Q1,2,3) in the world and 05 national initiatives have been recognized by the Government.

2.1 Scientific articles published in prestigious domestic and foreign scientific journals

In addition to influential research for the academic community, regulatory agencies, and businesses in the country. The quantity and quality of the university's international publications have had strong and positive changes in recent years. In particular, the scientific articles on the Web of Science (ISI) and Scopus categories of HUB over the past 10 years have a total of 25. This number continues to be maintained and grows steadily year by year, bringing the DNC to the top of the group of multidisciplinary universities with the best scientific performance in the Mekong Delta. The International publication is the highlight, marking a breakthrough in scientific research activities of the University, demonstrating the orientation of integration and internationalization in scientific research activities, and the desire to discover and contribute new knowledge to mankind.

The DNC always identifies scientific research and training as the main two pillars of a global university, in which science and technology activities not only create scientific and technological products for life, but also primarily aim to improve the quality of training. The key for universities is to create new knowledge, if not promoting scientific and technological development, it will simply spread without creating.

2.2 Accreditation of education quality for full-time undergraduate and master's degree programs

With the active contribution of science and technology activities, in 2018, the DNC was awarded the Certificate of Accreditation of Educational Institutions by the Center for Education Accreditation - Vietnam Association of Universities and Colleges. By 2019 and 2022, Education Accreditation Center - Hanoi National University has granted the Certificate of Education Quality Accreditation for the full-time undergraduate training programs and master's degree programs as follows:

Table 1. Statistics on training programs that were granted the Certificate of Education Quality Accreditation

(Source: Departments of Examination and Education Quality Assurance, Nam Can Tho University)

2.3 International cooperation develops in both breadth and depth

The DNC always affirms that international cooperation is one of the positive solutions to build and develop training human resources to meet the needs of society and international integration. The DNC, especially focusing on activities in international cooperation relations, expands training links with universities, research institutes, and advanced organizations in the world to access science and technology to improve training quality and at the same time attract resources for science and technology activities of the University.

The DNC is cooperating with the Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST) to provide international standard training in Business Administration, as stipulated in the Decision of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOE) No. 3712/QĐ-BGDĐT dated September 22, 2017. Students enrolled in this program will study in Vietnam and Malaysia, the training program is developed and taught by the MUST. The affiliate training is an opportunity for staff, lecturers, and students of the two universities to enhance exchanges on management, teaching, and academic research. Up to now, 03 courses have been trained with a total of 104 students, including K18 = 25 students, K19 = 31 students, K 20 = 29 students, and K 21 = 19 students. The MUST has also decided to award 02 scholarships for Ph.D. students in Business Administration for staff and lecturers of the DNC. This is considered a good start for the cooperation and affirms that the cooperation will grow more and more in the coming time.

In order to expand international training links, the DNC also signed a cooperation agreement with Montpellier Business University (France) in training bachelor, master, and Ph.D. in business administration. The DNC also signed cooperation agreements and affiliate training with universities such as the International University of Thailand National Institute of Development Administration (ICO NIDA), and National Quemoy University - Taiwan with the following contents: Promote the teaching and research activities of the two sides; promote exchanges by inviting students, lecturers, and administrators from both sides to participate in learning, teaching, research, and professional development activities; implementation of joint research projects and joint training programs; organizing symposia, seminars, short courses and fostering research skills; with the desire to train high-quality human resources to meet social requirements and also open up many opportunities for students in the Mekong Delta for choosing majors and university.

The DNC and Philips Group in Vietnam also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on training cooperation for 3 years from 2022 to 2024, to train medical human resources, and serve and support treatment for Can Tho City and the Mekong Delta. Under this partnership program, final-year health students including medical imaging technicians and general practitioners will participate in a training program from basic to advanced about Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), computerized tomography (CT), interventional imaging, and ultrasound as well as the use of critical and emergency equipment in clinical practice. The program will combine theory and practice and is taught directly by well-trained Philips clinical application and product experts. The final-year medical students will practice right at the Nam Can Tho University Medical Center, a unit of the DNC, which is equipped with modern medical systems and equipment.

2.4 Being the leading university in the strategy of building and successfully developing the "Business model in University"

The DNC is one of the pioneer universities that has been promoting the implementation of the business model in university in order to limit and overcome the separation between knowledge training and practical work skills requirements in production and business and services with the hope of contributing to the implementation of "fundamentally and comprehensively renovate education and training". In order to contribute to promoting the business model in the university for practical and sustainable development, in line with the current internationalization training trend.

The DNC invests in "Developing the business in the university from its own resources" such as Nam Mien Nam Group, Nam Can Tho University Medical Center One Member Company Limited, Nam Can Tho DNC Trading One Member Company Limited, and Institute of Medicinal Research and Development. These businesses have become places to serve the needs of practice - internship, creating conditions for students to interact with reality, and contributing to perfecting and improving skills. On the other hand, DNC develops the linkage with social outside businesses for human resource training, linking training with business needs, typical of the tourism business model in the university at DNC.

In addition to establishing the "Business model in University” with its own resources, the extensive association with partners such as TaTa International Group, ISUZU Group, Vingroup, Philips Vietnam Co., Ltd., Can Tho Central General Hospital, 121 Military Hospital, Can Tho City General Hospital, Hau Giang Pharmacy, Viettinbank, HDBank, Misa, Viettel, VNPT, Can Tho City Employment Service Center, etc. that helped to train professional skills, soft skills for students from the first year to graduation, making students familiar with the working environment of enterprises.

Among the effective "Business models in University”, it must be mentioned that the Institute of Medicinal Research and Development, established in 2018 with the function of researching and developing products from medicinal herbs to supporting disease prevention and treatment in order to improve human health and spiritual life. With an area of ​​nearly 800 m², in the multi-functional practice area of the DNC, the Institute of Medicinal Research and Development is equipped with modern equipment such as a vacuum extraction and concentration system, solvent recovery rotary evaporator, grain milling and repair machine, semi-automatic capsule filling machine, and other machines imported from advanced countries in the world to serve the research and creation of products derived from medicinal herbs to prevent and support the treatment of diseases, improve human health, and improve quality of life. The Institute is also a place for scientific research and experiment for the staff and students of the university with related majors, contributing to promoting the scientific research activities of DNC as well as the Mekong Delta. Besides, it also creates an additional source of income and improves the material life of the people by growing medicinal herbs. The remarkable achievement of the Institute of Medicinal Research and Development is to research and launch DNC hand sanitizer to join hands with the community in the prevention of the Covid-19 epidemic and other infectious diseases. Successfully researched products to support the treatment of gout, and products to support LIVER protection branded DNC.

The proudest thing about "Business Models in University” is the birth and officially put into operation of Nam Can Tho University Medical Center. With a scale of 300 beds, and a total investment of over VND 800 billion, in addition to providing medical examination and treatment for people in Can Tho City and the whole region, the hospital is also a place for vocational training and career skills for students studying health majors. Before that, in 2020, Nam Can Tho DNC Auto Showroom was inaugurated and put into operation. This is only a place to operate a showroom - garage business, but also a place to practice - internship for students in the field of Automotive Engineering Technology in particular and majors in the field of Mechanical Engineering in general, creating conditions for students to interact with reality, contributing to perfecting and improving their skills after graduation.

In 2022, Nam Can Tho University continue to invest in factories serving the production and training of engineering and technology sectors such as a Pure water production system, and food processing. Commencement of construction of 10-floor Institute for Research and Training in Health Sciences, floor area of over 12,000 m², and Software Development and Application Center with 06 floors, a floor area of 6,000 m². In training, the DNC applies teaching methods through modern technology to promote students' self-study and creative abilities.

2.5 International scientific conferences develop both quantity and quality of science

Due to the quality requirements of international scientific conferences, the DNC organizes international scientific conferences every 2 years and has achieved good results. During international scientific conferences, both face-to-face and online forms have been flexibly combined with the participation of hundreds of domestic and foreign scientists, managers, and experts. Over the past 10 years, the DNC has successfully organized the following four international scientific conferences as following.

2.5.1 Organization of international scientific conferences: The DNC has cooperated with Tay Do University to organize an international scientific conference with the topic "Development of commerce and science – technology of the Mekong Delta in the context of international integration”. The workshop was attended by the rector, the president of the university council, and scientists from Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and France.

The purpose of the conference is to provide arguments and solutions to solve the problem of increasing income for farmers in the Mekong Delta, which is to restructure production in agriculture and to increase the links between supply chains and value chains. At the same time, science and technology must be applied to production to improve the quality and value of agricultural products, improve competitiveness, in line with market demand, and enhance integration.

The results of the international scientific conference at the DNC created a new perspective and approach to change the Mekong Delta's agriculture from "production thinking" to "economic thinking", in which the main concern is raising added value; promoting commercialization of agricultural products; application of advanced technologies in agricultural production; to step up training and development of human resources in order to promote the transformation of labor structure and population structure; promote scientific research and technology development for sustainable development in the Mekong Delta.

Figure 1. National and international delegates participated in the International Workshop

2.5.2 International scientific conference with the topic "Renovation of production and business in Mekong Delta Region after the Covid-19 pandemic". Due to the Covid-19 pandemic conditions, the scientific conference was held face-to-face and online form. At the conference, 09 speeches were presented, revolving around the situation of businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic; solutions to restore and develop production and business of enterprises in the Mekong Delta after the Covid-19 pandemic, and propose policies to stabilize people's lives and restore local socio-economic development. Chang Gung University, Taiwan, shared the experiences of Taiwanese companies on the policy of dividing production plants and building factories near the area to supply production materials to the consumer market to reduce shipping costs.

Dr. Pornthipa Ongkunaruk emphasized that frozen shrimp is one of Thailand's major exports. This study has exposed a supply chain of frozen shrimp products, a large-scale producer in Central Thailand. Our objective was to study the current supply chain of a frozen shrimp processing plant in Samut Sakhon province and propose recommendations to improve efficiency in each operation, especially in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. First, we analyzed the company's business process using the integrated term for functional model (IDEFO) to investigate the stakeholders of the supply chain and the frozen shrimp producer's business processes. After analysis, we identified issues and suggested ways to improve efficiency such as risk management, especially for shrimp and labor shortage. Supplier relationships need was established along with contracts, forecast prices, and shrimp demand to optimize procurement. Workers need to learn multi-skill and apply minimalist manufacturing to increase productivity. Finally, digitization should be completely transformed and centralized information establishment to reduce time, increase accuracy and share data with partners. This presentation had practical significance for the frozen shrimp industry in the Mekong Delta.

Figure 2. The main hall in the webinar

(Due to Covid-19, social distancing, not allowed to gather more than 10 people)

Figure 3. Mr. Duong Tan Hien (MSc), Standing Committee of the City Party Committee, Standing Vice Chairman of Can Tho City gave a welcome speech and read the discussion on solutions to overcome the business operations of enterprises after the Covid-19 pandemic

2.5.3 International scientific conference "Optimizing the management of cardiovascular disease in the modern era". The 1st International Cardiology Conference was organized to provide clinicians with the latest updates and advances in the field of cardiology to improve the quality of medical treatment. The conference was attended by famous leading medical experts in Vietnam and around the world related to cardiology. The reports use prestigious data and research materials in the world to ensure the timeliness, timely and rapid update of modern medical work guidelines to bring the latest images and information about cardiovascular disease. This helps health students at the DNC in particular and the country in general, medical doctors, staff of Nam Can Tho University Medical Center, researchers, and Ph.D. students cultivate more knowledge about modern health, in line with social needs.

Figure 4. Delegates, scientists, and leaders of hospitals in Mekong Delta provinces participated in the Conference

Figure 5. Dr. and Lawyer Nguyen Tien Dung, President of the University Council, presented a bouquet of flowers to thank domestic and foreign scientists for coming to the Conference

2.5.4 International scientific conference “New technology on modern cars”. The objective was to enhance knowledge and learning motivation for students of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, especially final-year students, to participate in internships and practice. Besides, the conference is also an opportunity to meet researchers, academics, investors, businesses... to share experiences, and ideas about automotive technology in the fourth industrial revolution. Automotive engineering technology is a discipline that integrates knowledge of many fields: mechanics, automation, electricity-electronics, and machine building technology. Engineers who graduated from this industry are also capable of using, exploiting, and maintaining cars to improve the efficiency of using cars. In addition, automotive engineers can also participate in managing technical services, operating spare parts production, assembling, etc. at automobile factories and dealers.

Figure 6. Delegates, scientists, and leaders of automobile manufacturers throughout the country participated in the Conference

2.6 National scientific conferences developed both quantity and quality of science

2.6.1 City-level Scientific Conference “Transforming economic growth model of Can Tho City to 2020 and Vision to 2030”. With the purpose of exchanging information about the theories and practices in the process of transforming Vietnam's economic growth model, especially the economic growth model in Can Tho City. Through the conference, we overviewed the opportunities - challenges, strengths - weaknesses of the existing economic growth model and a proposed solution that Can Tho City will have to implement in the process of transforming the economic growth model to 2030. The economic structure of the agricultural, industrial, and service sectors respectively reached 8.0%, 31.3%, and 53.7% in 2025 and 5.2%, 34.9%, and 53.0% in 2030. GRDP per capita at current prices will reach VND 194.37 million in 2030, achieving a growth rate of 10.5%/year for the period of 2021 - 2030. Believe that Can Tho City will achieve the target by 2030 and become the "heart" of the Mekong Delta. The conference suggested that Can Tho prioritize development including pharmaceutical production, renewable energy, agricultural product processing, logistics - port services, tourism - hotels, and services such as retail, education, and healthcare to become the center, the nucleus of the region.

Figure 7. Dedelegates, scientists, and leaders of districts and cities participated in the Conference

Figure 8. Souvenir photos of the DNC, City leaders with some delegates and scientists discussed in the Conference

2.6.2 Scientific Conferences at University and Faculty levels

Along with international, national, and city-level scientific conferences, the university-level and faculty-level seminars were held annually with 10 seminars with rich and vibrant topics, closely following the requirements of improving professional knowledge for each discipline and major in training such as Health, Pharmacy, Economics - Business administration - Finance and Banking, Accounting, Law issues, Mechanical Dynamics, Architecture - Construction & Environment, Output standard training, and human resources development, etc.

2.6.2.1 University-level workshop with the topic "Solutions to improve the life of reinforced concrete structures" organized by the Faculty of Architecture - Construction and Environment, Nam Can Tho University. Through the workshop, the organizers hope that the delegates presenting their speeches, as well as the participants, had more solutions for themselves in the process of implementing the project, as well as for the students of the Construction Engineering major had more applied knowledge after graduation, thereby improving the quality of training and teaching of the University.

Figure 9. Souvenir photos of the DNCy with some delegates, scientists, and students participated in the Workshop

2.6.2.2 University-level scientific workshop “Innovating teaching methods, improving training quality in the form of credits at Nam Can Tho University”. With the participation of nearly 100 delegates who were officials and lecturers from departments and faculties under the university. The aim of the workshop was to ensure the implementation, quality improvement and effectiveness of training in the form of credits to meet the requirements of providing qualified and practical legal human resources trained at the DNC.

This was one of the meaningful activities to promote the efficiency and quality of training at the DNC. The University acknowledged the opinions of the delegates at the workshop and will research and come up with the best solutions so that students studying at the DNC upon graduation will become highly qualified resources contributing to the general development of society.

Figure 10. Souvenir photos with some delegates, scientists, and students who participated in the Workshop

2.6.2.3 University-level scientific workshop “Improving the quality of graduate training”. The workshop aimed to share experiences in the management, teaching, and assessment of students, contributing to improving the quality and scale of graduate training. Through 06 reported presentations, the participants saw an overall picture of the graduate training situation at the DNC. On that basis, the delegates participated in exchanging and analyzing the difficulties and advantages of training work, at the same time proposed solutions to contribute to the improvement of graduate teaching according to Circular 23 of the Ministry of Education and Training on training at master's degree and Circular 18 on training at doctoral degree, in order to improve the reputation and brand of the DNC.

Figure 11. Souvenir photo with some delegates and leaders who participated in the Workshop

2.7 Implement domestic projects

Scientific research at all levels participated in the selection of provincial and city topics, and scientific research projects of lecturers and students continued to achieve high prizes in competitions at all levels such as:

- In 2014, when it was newly established, the DNC was assigned by the People's Committee of Can Tho City to carry out the city-level science project “Transforming the economic growth model of Can Tho City until the end of the year 2020 and a vision for 2030”. The results of the study were good quality and were included in Can Tho City as a basis for determining the economic growth model of Can Tho City with a vision for 2030.

- In 2021, despite the peak of the Covid-19 epidemic, the DNC successfully participated in the selection and implementation of the key city-level project “Building models and projects for tourism development in Can Tho City by 2030”. Due to the advantage of waterways in the Mekong Delta, the project built the model, project to develop river tourism routes such as Can Tho - Vinh Long - Tien Giang - Ho Chi Minh City; Cai Rang Floating Market - Vam Xang Fruit Garden; Cai Rang Floating Market - Noodle craft village - Truc Lam Phuong Nam Zen Monastery - My Khanh Tourist Village; Cai Rang Floating Market - Binh Thuy Ancient House; Binh Thuy Communal House - Con Son; Cai Rang Floating Market - Noodle craft village - Nam Nha Pagoda – Binh Thuy Communal House - Tan Loc Ait; Ong Pagoda - Fruit Garden (seasonal) - Can Tho Bridge - Pitu Khosa Rangsay Pagoda - Can Tho Ancient Market - Can Tho Cruise - Ninh Kieu Night Market - Cai Rang Floating Market - My Khanh Tourist Village, etc.

Initial results showed that Can Tho city needed to invest and develop a strategy to develop national and international river cultural festivals to create a highlight to attract tourists. In addition, it is necessary to diversify products, focusing on tourism products to experience the commercial life at Cai Rang and Phong Dien floating markets in order to highlight the local culture, thereby positioning river tourism as a unique and specialized product of Can Tho. It will be the product of the future and will not be duplicated by any other locality.

2.8 National-level research and initiatives in 2022

With the above efforts on science and technology of the DNC, on August 22, 2022, the People's Committee of Can Tho City signed Decision No. 2740/QD-UBND on the recognition of effective application and influent scope of five national initiatives of the DNC such as:

1. The DNC NAMCTGU product, which has the effect of supporting the treatment of gout disease from the mixed extract (bud of Syzygium nervosum species, perilla leaves, and turmeric root) by the authors Nguyen Tien Dung, Le Thi To Vi, Le Nhi Xuan, Trinh Tan Thien, and Tran My Tuyen.

2. The DNC GAN capsule product, which has the effect of supporting liver protection from a mixture of three medicinal herbs (Acanthus ebracteatus, leaves of Polyscias fruticosa species, and turmeric root) in the Mekong Delta by the authors Nguyen Tien Dung, Le Thi To Vi, Le Nhi Xuan, Trinh Tan Thien, and Tran My Tuyen.

3. The DNC antibacterial hand wash product and DNC dry hand sanitizer by the authors Nguyen Tien Dung, Le Thi To Vi, Le Nhi Xuan, Trinh Tan Thien, and Tran My Tuyen.

4. Eco-friendly fuel-saving eco-cars of the author group Nguyen Van Quang, Nguyen Hoang Viet, Mai Viet Sinh, and Le Phan Trong.

5.   Nine-seat electric car using solar energy, authored by Nguyen Van Quang, Nguyen Van  Tong Em, Nguyen Hoang Viet, Nguyen Qui Dien, and Nguyen Hoang Anh.

2.9 Students' scientific research continues to win high prizes in competitions at all levels

Every year, the DNC has organized scientific research conferences for students, even in the years of Covid - 19, it was still conducted with the online form on the MS Teams platform. The DNC selected excellent topics, completed dossiers, and submitted them to participate in ministerial-level competitions. Besides, the 2nd year video clip-making contest with the topic: "Students of Nam Can Tho University with scientific research activities" was conducted in an online form. The annual contest has attracted an increasing number of students participating, and the amount of interaction on social networks, thereby contributing to promoting the University's activities to society.

2.10 Publishing scientific articles in prestigious journals around the world is increasing in both quantity and quality

Thanks to the investment policies, incentive rewards of prestigious international scientific publications, and regulations on recording and unifying the University's name in scientific works and academic databases, the number of scientific publications in the Web of Science (WoS)/Scopus category of DNC had increased significantly year by year. According to statistics over the past 10 years, the university's lecturers have published 25 articles in the WoS database. The annual average increase is nearly 15%, of which:

• • The article achieved Q1, Q2 (Scopus): 8 (Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Engineering - Technology, Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Restaurant Management, university leaders).

  • The article achieved Q3, Q4 (Scopus): 6 (Faculty of Information Technology, university leader).

Figure 12. Journal of Science and Development Economics of Nam Can Tho University

The total number of scientific articles published in prestigious domestic journals in the past 10 years was 269; the articles published in the Journal of Nam Can Tho University were 152, of which: Number of staff, and lecturers of DNC participated was 167; the number of DNC students DNC participated was 20; articles published in other domestic journals were 117.

2.11 Textbooks, reference materials for students learning are more and more with new information

The University Council has always determined that curriculum and teaching materials can support learning and increase student success. Ideally, teaching materials can be adjusted according to the content and students in the specific class. Teaching materials come in many shapes and sizes, but they all have one thing in common is able to support students' learning well.

Learning materials are important because by supporting learning, they can significantly increase student achievement. For example, a worksheet can provide learners with the key situations, in which to practice a new skill learned in class. This process supports the learning process by allowing learners to independently explore knowledge as well as practice patterns.

Learning materials can also add important structure to compile lesson plans and tutorials. Particularly in the lower grades, learning materials act as a guideline for both teachers and students. They can create valuable habits. Therefore, in the past 10 years, along with the selection of lecturers and program building, the curriculum and reference materials have received special attention from the University

- The total number of accepted curriculums was 21, of which the number of curriculums used for the undergraduate level was 19, and the number of curriculums used for the graduate level was 02.

Figure 13. Photo of the textbook acceptance committee

-  Published curriculums was 13

-  Accepted monograph was 1

Figure 14. Photo of the acceptance committee of the Faculty of Information Technology

Looking back over the past 10 years, the scientific and technological activities of the University's officials, lecturers, and students had increasingly achieved outstanding results. The years 2021 and 2022 marked the most successful years in the roadmap of the DNC toward the goal set out in the development strategy of becoming an application-oriented multidisciplinary university.

Table 2. Topics, curriculums and implementation units

Figure 15. Photo of the acceptance committee of the Faculty of Pharmacy

3. EXPERIENCE LESSONS IN SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY ACTIVITIES OF NAM CAN THO UNIVERSITY FOR TEN YEARS FROM 2013 TO 2023

Firstly, it is necessary to consistently innovate thinking on university construction and development, and financial mechanism with strong management and clear application process to promote investment in scientific and technological research activities at the University. Implement forms of funding for scientific research in packages associated with the University's application orientation and commitment to creating quality products for consumers, which focuses on supporting the development of priority application-oriented research programs, especially the need to increase self-control to create motivation to promote scientific research.

Secondly, constituting strong research groups in the University, in faculties, and in interdisciplinary fields, the group's activities have achieved very good results. The University will establish a teaching research model and request the University Council to provide additional funding for these groups. The University has also invested heavily in facilities and funding for lecturers to conduct research with a group of scientists abroad.

Third, it is necessary to boldly build a strong budget enough to initiate university cultural changes in business formation in the University. Establish businesses close to each training discipline to effectively conduct research, technology transfer to encourage lecturers to research commercialize research, and stimulate applied research.

Fourth, funding research based on quality, clarity, transparency, and sufficient and simple administrative procedures will help attract scientists who both teach and do apply research. Although research is expensive and difficult, it creates a brand for the University, thereby attracting good students and good teachers, retaining talented scientists, and creating long-term and sustainable effects.

Fifth, organize an annual conference to "plan", and remove bottlenecks for scientific and technological activities in the University, after the conference, the spirit of scientific research will permeate each scientist, lecturer, and student. Through the plan to create real changes in scientific and technological activities. Assign the highest autonomy to the project or topic manager; simplify financial procedures; establish a strong research group with a specific mechanism to promote autonomy and independence in deploying, searching, and performing scientific tasks in Can Tho City and other provinces in the region, etc.

4. MAIN ORIENTATION OF SCIENCE - TECHNOLOGY ACTIVITIES TO 2030

1.  To further promote scientific and technological activities, making an important contribution to further improving the quality of training from bachelor to doctorate, making an important contribution to the sustainable development of the DNC.

2. Continue to build Nam Can Tho University into a multidisciplinary application-oriented university, high-quality of the whole country and Southeast Asia, closely combining training and scientific research, technology transfer.

3. Propose scientific research programs, technology transfer, and solutions to enhance the effectiveness of science-technology activities and improve training quality at the DNC, contributing to implementing the strategic goals of the socio-economic development of the Mekong Delta region and the whole country.

4. Continue to improve regulations on the management of science and technology in association with improving the quality of training in all branches and all levels of study, oriented towards application in service of production and life.

5. To further strengthen the financial resources sufficient for the scientific and technological activities of the DNC to be on par with the leading countries in Southeast Asia.

6. Bring The Journal of Science and Economics Development of the DNC into the system of scoring database to consider the title of Professor/Associate Professor and Southeast Asian citations (ASEAN Citation Index - ACI).

7. Continue to develop linkages with the Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST) to train bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees in Business Administration to meet international standards.

8. Effectively deploying international training links with Montpellier University of Commerce (France) in training bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees in Business Administration majors.

9. Training cooperation with universities: International University of National Institute of Development Administration (ICO NIDA), National Quemoy University - Taiwan in training economic - tourism - hotel.

10. Nam Can Tho University and Philips Corporation in Vietnam signed a memorandum of understanding on training cooperation for 3 years from 2022 to 2024, to train human resources for health, service, and support treatment for Can Tho City and the Mekong Delta region.

11. Continue to expand training links with universities around the world with strengths in mechanics - dynamics, construction, environment, pharmacy, and health sciences in training bachelor, master, and doctoral.

References:

1. Faculty of Graduate Studies (2022). Data on Scientific Research and Technology of Nam Can Tho University to 2022.

2. Nam Can Tho University (2022). Data and reports on science and technology activities of faculties, centers, and institutes

3. Faculty of Graduate Studies (2022). Statistics on the number of scientific and technological research projects at Nam Can Tho University.