Viet Kieu bring grey matter to the homeland

The Hanoitimes - Always heading towards the homeland, in recent years, more and more overseas Vietnamese intellectuals and scientists want to return to Vietnam to contribute their efforts to the development of the country.

Offering enthusiasm, receiving indifference

The seventh meeting of the world’s physicists held recently in Quy Nhon City in Vietnam gathered big names in the field, including Dam Thanh Son, Trinh Xuan Thuan, Pham Quang Hung and Tran Thanh Van.

Just within a short trip, Professor Trinh Xuan Thuan took a tour to all the universities from the north to the south to arouse love science, love the subject of astrophysics. Professor Pham Quang Hung, who has been making every effort to transfer the advanced physics curriculum to the Hue University in the last eight years, was easily recognized by the university students.

Professor Vo Van Toi’s name has become familiar to the students of the HCM City International University, the place where the professor decided to build up the biomedical engineering major. This is also the major he founded at the Tufts during the years he taught in the US.

However, there has existed a worry among nearly all big scientists that they still cannot see the determination and the eagerness to develop sciences. Professor Trinh Xuan Thuan has expressed his worry about the fact that Vietnam has been focusing o­n experimental sciences, while having ignored basic sciences.

Professor Dam Thanh Son has suggested to retain young scientists in Vietnam, and create most favorable conditions for them to make scientific research, or they would leave the country.

Professor Le Tran Kim Ngoc, the wife of Professor Tran Thanh Van, a big name in the biology, said that she would be ready to do everything she can to help develop the homeland, from connecting scientists to the world, to taking care for procedures, accommodations for the foreign scientists who come to Vietnam.

However, Ngoc said that she sometimes felt discouraged when witnessing the indifference kept by the people she met in Vietnam.

There are many millionaires in Vietnam, and the big guys in the real estate sector. But it seems that no o­ne has come forward and called for donation to develop sciences. In France, she could borrow a palace to organize annual meeting of scientists. Meanwhile, in Vietnam she many times faced the hesitancy of Vietnamese local authorities and leaders of universities.

“They agreed to the proposals, but they did not show their determination to do any things,” she noted.

What to do to attract intelligence of overseas Vietnamese?

“The questions that makes me think most are how to create a good environment for Vietnamese talents to follow studies in basic sciences, and what the Vietnamese strategy to develop basic sciences should be,” said Professor Pham Quang Hung from Virginia University.

China, the neighboring country, which o­nce also faced the same problems as Vietnam’s, has done much to attract overseas Chinese by offering good working and living conditions.

“Vietnam has laid out a policy to attract Vietnamese intelligence, but it should be quick in implementing the policy, or it will face the more serious brain-drain,” he has warned.

Dr Alan Phan said that in sciences, the most important thing is the academic freedom environment. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, the environment is still not really good, which has discouraged the scientists who want to make contribution to the science development in the homeland.

“I believe that we need to prepare an “open head” to receive all the currents of ideas from the outside,” he said, adding in order to attract birds to come to perch, it is necessary to offer happy land.