Oversea Vietnamese intellectuals returning to work in Ho Chi Minh City in the long run have risen on years and helped the city exploit untapped human resources potential for the national development. 

The Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM) has so far partnered with more than 200 expat intellectuals in various fields. 

Prof. Dr. Vo Van Toi, an overseas Vietnamese in the US, has contributed significantly to the opening of the Biomedical Engineering faculty of the International University under the VNU-HCM.

He recalled that when he returned to Vietnam eight years ago, biomedical engineering was still new. Now, the Biomedical Engineering faculty has been rated by the ASEAN University Network as the top facility in Vietnam and second in ASEAN in terms of training quality. It has also attracted many young master’s degree and PhD holders from other countries to return to lecture, he said. 

Meanwhile, Prof. Dr. Dang Luong Mo, an expat in Japan, has become a senior advisor of the VNU-HCM. He has supported the development of an IC design training programme which is being taught by various universities. 

He has assisted the launch of the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) Design and Stimulation Laboratory at the University of Technology in 2000. 

Pro. Dr. Mo also worked with the Electronics and Telecommunications faculty of the University of Natural Sciences under the VNU-HCM to open post-graduate courses on IC design in 2007. Initial lecturers in the courses were OVs and foreigners invited by Prof. Mo , who were then replaced by young Vietnamese trained in Japan. Currently, all lecturers are Vietnamese. 

Prof. Mo ’s efforts have significantly contributed to training a generation of experts in IC design, as well as forming a programme for IC industry development in the city in the 2013-2020 period, making IC one of national major products to be developed. 

Dr. Duong Quoc Binh, an OV from Canada, has played the key role in building the Ho Chi Minh City Biotechnology Centre and training a contingent of proficient personnel to develop biotechnology in Vietnam. 

Binh revealed that the city has approved his proposal to send 100 officials of the centre to developed countries to get MA and PhD degrees for the expansion of biotechnology. He has also directly trained 25 MAs in the field for Vietnam. 

According to Prof. Toi, overseas training is a good policy, but, the success is to attract brainpower from intellectuals from all over the world, especially OVs, Vietnamese students studying abroad as well as foreigners.

He underscored the need to improve the living and working environment, and offer competitive salary and promotion opportunities. 

While encouraging OVs’ involvement in human resources development, the municipal People’s Committee has supported a number of projects proposed by expat intellectuals, including a project to form an electronic technology bookcase with over 160 books and researches published in prestigious magazines in the past 100 years, a valuable source for lecturers and students. 

The city is also designing attractive treatment policies to mobilise expatriates’ talent, expertise and consultancy in strategy making and technology transfer. 

It will also invite prestigious expatriate experts to give lectures in the city and engage in researches and technology applications.-VNA