Expenditures of the Science and technology development fund of a higher education institution in Vietnam

Expenditures of the Science and technology development fund of a higher education institution in Vietnam (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. Source of Science and technology development funds of higher education institutions in Vietnam

According to Clause 2, Article 22 of Decree 109/2022/ND-CP, the Science and technology development funds of higher education institutions are formed from the following sources:

- Funding set aside from tuition fees;

- Voluntary contributions, sponsorships, donations, donations from alumni or from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals;

- Other lawful sources of income.

2. Expenditures of the Science and technology development fund of a higher education institution in Vietnam

The science and technology development fund of a higher education institution may be spent on the following:

(1) Performing scientific and technological tasks at all levels without using the state budget; reciprocating scientific and technological tasks at ministerial level and equivalent or higher with the use of the state budget;

(2) Supporting various types of research groups and lecturers to announce research results, register intellectual property, attend domestic and foreign scientific conferences and seminars, and purchase scientific documents; purchasing copyrights, scientific and technological databases; purchasing the right to own and use technology; inviting experts to attend conferences and seminars; supporting remuneration for freelance contracts signed with experts; supporting scientific and technological human resource training and retraining activities; supporting start-up groups of students and lecturers;

(3) Rewarding permanent lecturers and students with high achievements in scientific research and technology transfer, winning national and international science and technology prizes;

(4) Paying bonuses at least equal to the lowest average salary of regions of the business sector (hereinafter referred to as average salary) to the main author of the article who is a permanent lecturer of a higher education institution published in scientific journals in the WoS database; paying bonuses at least 05 times the average salary for the author of 01 invention and paying bonuses at least 03 times the average salary for the author of 01 utility solution or 01 plant variety; paying bonuses to the main author of articles published in journals in the Scopus catalog at a rate determined by the higher education institution;

(5) Equipping material and technical foundations, repairing, purchasing and maintaining equipment and working means, strengthening research capacity for scientific and technological development;

(6) Sponsoring scientific research activities of students and young lecturers; supporting scholarships for students and postgraduate students;

(7) Funding for preferential policies for strong research groups in higher education institutions specified in Clause 2, Article 10 of this Decree;

(8) Carrying out scientific and technological activities sponsored or ordered by organizations and individuals according to agreements with sponsors;

(9) Carrying out investment activities, reciprocal investment capital for start-up and innovation activities;

(10) Engaging domestic and foreign organizations and individuals to advise and manage investment activities of the scientific and technological development fund of the higher education institution; carrying out technology incubation, science and technology business incubation, commercialization of scientific research and technological development results;

(11) Carrying out other scientific, technological and innovative activities of the higher education institution.

(Clause 3, Article 22 of Decree 109/2022/ND-CP)

3. State policies on scientific and technological development in Vietnam

The State shall implement following policies to ensure scientific and technological development is the top national policy:

- Prioritize and gather all national resources for scientific and technological development; apply preferential treatment and incentives consistently to promote central role and driving force of science and technology for socio-economic development, ensuring National defense and security, environmental protection and improvement of the quality of people's life;

- Develop areas of social sciences and humanities, natural science, technical and technological science consistently; attach the tasks of scientific and technological development to the tasks of socio-economic development, ensuring National defense and security; pave the way for the formation and development of knowledge economy;

- Step up research and application of achievements of advanced and modern science and technology, research to master and create new technologies with the aim of innovating and improving technological level and competitiveness of the products;

- Focus efforts on the investment and construction of material and technical bases with much importance attached to the areas of science and technology of priority and national importance; apply preferential treatment and incentives for development, training, attraction and effective employment of human resources;

- Create favorable conditions for the development of scientific and technological market;

- Encourage and create favorable conditions for businesses to make investment in science and technology activities, innovate and improve technological levels;

- Encourage and create favorable conditions for scientific and technological associations, socio-political organizations, social organizations, socio—occupational organizations to participate in consultancy, social counter-arguments and science and technology activities;

- Be actively involved in international integration on science and technology; increase national position in terms of science and technology in the region and in the world;

(Article 6 of the Law on Science and Technology 2013)

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