Lecturers and students practice at the lab of the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: VNA   

VREF is designed to deliver on the Party’s guidelines, notably the Politburo’s Resolution 57-NQ/TW dated December 22, 2024, which targets breakthroughs in sci-tech, innovation and national digital transformation, as well as Resolution 71-NQ/TW dated August 22, 2025 on education and training development.

Building a new generation of leading scientists

Under the decision, PhD students are identified as a core research force directly contributing to breakthroughs in sci-tech and innovation. Investing in top-tier doctoral candidates is more than workforce development, but a high-stakes strategic bet to forge a cohort of world-class scientists and technologists who can power Vietnam’s long-term economic ambitions.

The programme marks a sharp pivot from broad training support to targeted investment in research excellence. It concentrates resources on priority areas, especially strategic technologies, while ensuring  balanced coverage across scientific disciplines.

Selection will be transparent and fiercely competitive, with funding linked tightly to measurable deliverables. The scheme also encourages co-funding from enterprises and research organisations, deepens state-academia-industry ties, and broadens global collaboration.

It will back outstanding PhD students pursuing high-impact studies, with strong preference for projects that master core technologies or spawn strategic tech products. The explicit goal is cultivating a generation of young scientists equipped with exceptional talent and true independent research capacity, thus boosting Vietnam’s technological self-reliance and national competitiveness.

Roughly 100 top post-graduates are expected to be selected and funded each year. Priority slots go to those working directly on core technologies and strategic products, with the remainder for breakthrough studies in other fields.

Output targets are rigorous: at least 60% of results published in reputable international journals, at least 20% involving intellectual property registration, and at least 15% transferred, commercialised or applied in production and business.

Funding of up to 1 billion VND per year

Eligible candidates are those meeting strict criteria, including proposing projects either to master or to innovate core technologies tied to strategic products, or to conduct novel, high-potential research in other scientific domains. The host universities, research institutes and science-technology organsations must demonstrate sufficient personnel, facilities and management capacity.

Both domestic and foreign scientists can act as supervisors or co-supervisors. Enterprises and other entities are actively encouraged to co-finance projects, collaborate on research, and drive application and commercialisation within legal bounds.

Funding will draw primarily from the state budget via annual sci-tech and innovation allocations, supplemented by resources pooled from domestic and foreign enterprises and organisations.

Each fellow can receive up to 1 billion VND (38,000 USD) per year for a maximum of three years. In exceptional cases, projects may be extended by up to two years without additional state funding.

Funds can be spent on direct research needs, including remuneration, materials and equipment, data and infrastructure, testing and processing services, scientific publications, conference participation, product development and technology validation, intellectual property registration and commercialisation, technology transfer, and international academic exchange, among other eligible expenses.

Disbursement is strictly performance-based, tied to annual milestones. The National Foundation for Science and Technology Development will oversee the programme./.