Vingroup Innovation Foundation organizes a seminar on enhancing the quality of scientific publication

On October 7, 2020, the seminar on “Enhancing the quality of scientific publication” was successfully held by Vingroup Innovation Foundation at Melia Hotel, Hanoi. There were 11 leading scientists in the fields of Mathematics, Information Technology, Geodynamics, Mechanics, Biomedical Medicine, Chemistry, Life Science, Physics and Economics attending the event.

In recent years, the quality of scientific papers published in the leading scientific journals has a certain difference. It is actually a shortcoming for Vingroup Innovation Foundation in the process of evaluating sponsored projects and for Vietnam’s Science and Technology as a whole. With the participation of leading scientists from the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (Nafosted) and representatives of Vingroup, including Prof. Vu Ha Van – Scientific Director of Vingroup Big Data Institute and Assoc.Prof. Phan Thi Ha Duong – Managing Director of Vingroup Innovation Foundation, the seminar aims to find solutions to the above shortcomings.

At the seminar, chairing a discussion, Prof. Vu Ha Van posed two main questions: Should we build a list of scientific journals for VINIF? And if the list is built, how should we gain the support from the scientific community?

Prof. Vu Ha Van – Scientific Director of Vingroup Big Data Institute chaired the discussion

Respectively, the answer was discussed by leading scientists, including:

  • Prof. Ngo Viet Trung – Chairman of Council of Mathematics, Institute of Mathematics, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology
  • Prof. Ho Tu Bao – Chairman of Council of Information Science and Computer Science, John von Neumann Institute, Vietnam National University HCM; 
  • Prof.Dr. Tran Thanh Hai – Chairman of Council of Earth Science and Environment, University of Mining and Geology;
  • Prof. Pham Duc Chinh – Member of Council of Mechanics, Institute of Mechanics – Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology
  • Prof.Dr. Dang Duc Anh – Chairman of Council of Life Science (Biomedical and Pharmacological)
  • Assoc.Prof.Dr. Tu Binh Minh – Member of Council of Chemistry, University of Sciences – Vietnam National University Hanoi;
  • Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Thi Van Anh – Key Laboratory of Enzyme Technology, University of Sciences – Vietnam National University, Hanoi;
  • Assoc.Prof.Dr. Dinh Van Trung – Director of Institute of Physics, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology;
  • Dr. Nguyen Viet Cuong – Vice Chairman of Council of Economics, National Economics University.

All experts agreed that with the level of financial support from VINIF (ranging from 2 billion VND to 10 billion VND), it is necessary to narrow the list of accepted journals, ensuring both quality and reputation of scientific publication. Yet, instead of relying solely on a fixed list of journals, VINIF should have a specific and clear criterion, especially for sponsoring multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary projects.

Assoc.Prof. Phan Thi Ha Duong – Managing Director of Vingroup Innovation Foundation said: “As each industry has its own characteristics, VINIF proposed the scientists of Nafosted to develop a group of experts in order to build two lists for their industry. VinIF will recognize these as lists of proposals, then have a council to evaluate excellent works according to the lists.”

Assoc.Prof. Phan Thi Ha Duong – Managing Director of Vingroup Innovation Foundation at the seminar

Prof.Dr. Tran Thanh Hai – Chairman of Council of Earth and environmental sciences shared: “With Earth and environmental sciences, Vietnam has not had many studies in specialized journals. Thus, we need to have clear criteria for specific industries, considering the selection criteria, the weight of each criterion and the assessment of the council.”

Combining the journal list and evaluation of the council when reviewing is the solution that experts proposed to implement. Besides, Doctor of Economics Nguyen Viet Cuong stated: “We need to focus on quality, not quantity. In addition, as a private fund, VINIF should leverage its own advantages to be flexible in the acceptance time, because many prestigious scientific journals worldwide take up to 2 years to evaluate paper from the time of submission.”

Leading experts discussed policies to motivate young scientists.

Also in the seminar, the experts proposed policies to encourage Vietnamese young scientists to conduct excellent scientific works, thus contributing to improving the quality of scientific publications in Vietnam.

Vingroup Innovation Foundation (VINIF) was established in 2018, aiming at supporting organizations and individuals to conduct scientific, technological and innovative research, thus creating positive and sustainable changes for Vietnam. In addition to the annual Research Support program, VINIF also implements Postgraduate Scholarships Sponsor Program​, Master Training Collaborative Program and Scientific Conferences and Seminars Sponsor Program.

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