The 2026 National Forum on the Future of Science, Technology, Innovation and Digital Transformation was held as part of National Innovation Day. Policymakers, scientists, businesses, investors and Vietnamese and international partners took part.
Nguyen Mai Duong, director of the State Agency for Technology and Innovation under the Ministry of Science and Technology, said the focus now needed to move beyond legal frameworks to practical results. He said Politburo Resolution No 57-NQ/TW identified science and technology, innovation and digital transformation as strategic breakthroughs and major drivers of Vietnam's development in the new era.
Duong said this direction was already reflected in laws covering science, technology and innovation, high technology, technology transfer, intellectual property and digital transformation. Together with implementing regulations, they provide a legal basis for research, technology development, testing, innovation and technology transfer, as well as the commercialisation of research results and the mobilisation of resources from society.
National Innovation Day 2026 was held under the theme "Innovation, a driving force for the development of the whole society". Duong called for a shift from awareness to action, ideas to products, and research to application and commercialisation. Successful models should be scaled, while the effectiveness of investment should be measured.
He identified three connected pillars: science and technology, especially strategic technologies; innovation that produces practical and scalable results; and national digital transformation.
Vietnam needs to strengthen its AI capabilities, master core technologies and raise the localisation rate of strategic technology products, Duong said. He also called for greater attention to the use and commercialisation of intellectual property so research and technology can become assets, products and commercial value.
He described the process as a continuous chain: selecting suitable technologies, building the capacity to master them, protecting and using intellectual property, moving technologies into production and markets, and expanding their application. Businesses should be central to innovation, supported by meaningful cooperation among research institutes, universities, intermediary organisations, investors and State agencies.
For digital transformation, Duong referred to the National Digital Architecture Framework issued by the Prime Minister in July. Connecting data, knowledge, computing capacity and different actors could shorten research, testing and validation cycles and help successful products and solutions scale across industries, localities and the country.
How Vietnam is seeking a place in a changing technology landscape
Nguyen Vo Hung, deputy director of the State Agency for Technology and Innovation, said artificial intelligence, biotechnology, robotics, advanced materials and digital technologies were increasingly converging. New technologies were also spreading between countries faster than in previous industrial eras, potentially giving developing economies more opportunities.
Hung cautioned against treating competition over the most advanced foundation models as Vietnam's only path. He cited estimates that the largest US companies alone could spend about US$775 billion on frontier AI in 2026. Vietnam cannot compete in a race of that scale, he said, but it does not need to.
A more realistic path is to adapt existing foundation models to local data, language and specific needs, while targeting niche markets. Hung also pointed to edge AI, integrated into factory equipment, cameras and sensors, as an opportunity.
Much of Vietnam's innovation takes place outside laboratories, Hung said. Manufacturers learn by using imported machinery and working with customers and suppliers, although this form of innovation is often overlooked. He cited a traditional garment maker whose engineers developed AI models to optimise production and detect defects previously found through visual inspection.
Phenikaa-X offered another example. Le Quang Hiep, a company representative at Phenikaa University, described work on autonomous vehicles, drones, intelligent robots and AI agents. Its autonomous mobility technologies include LiDAR and camera-based perception, positioning accurate to under 10 centimetres, 3D high-definition mapping and vehicle dynamics control.
The company's SAE Level 4 autonomous minibus has logged more than 26,300 kilometres in smart urban environments. It has also put autonomous road sweepers and vehicles for disinfection and transport on industrial farms into use.
Its Drone-in-the-Box system, combined with AI computer vision, is used for forest patrols in Ke Go, Ha Tinh Province, and post-storm damage assessment. The company says the system carries out assessments 10 times faster than conventional methods. Phenikaa-X's autonomous mobile and service robots have been introduced into supply chains and hospitals, while its XGeni platform lets organisations develop AI agents without programming. Hiep said it reduced the time needed to process some reports from 3.5 days to 2.4 minutes.
Innovation needs a purpose
Juhern Kim, country representative of the Global Green Growth Institute in Vietnam, said rapid technological progress should not obscure the purpose of innovation. It should benefit people and help address global challenges, including climate change and sustainable development, he said.
Kim noted that AI requires large amounts of electricity for data centres and computing infrastructure. The discussion therefore needs to cover not only how quickly AI expands, but also what energy will support that growth and how AI and robotics can help cut emissions.
Developing climate technology is not enough for widespread deployment, Kim said. The technology must be piloted, enabling conditions created, policy and investment secured, a market developed and the application scaled.
GGGI is working in Vietnam on biochar, electric two-wheelers, green finance and climate technology acceleration, while connecting Vietnamese businesses with international partners and investors. Kim said Vietnam was increasingly becoming a place to test new technologies, but that the expansion of AI would also increase demand for electricity.
Sources: Viet Nam News
